Last One Standing
by TouchofPixieDust
Summary: Chapter One excerpt: Being thrown into the wild to fend for myself against demons because of excessive absences at school seems a bit over the top, even for my school.
1. Last Man Standing

Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

Chapter One:

Last One Standing

Being thrown into the wild to fend for myself against demons because of excessive absences at school seems a bit over the top, even for my school. I'd laugh at how ridiculous it sounds if it wasn't for the fact that I am running for my life and am trying not to have a nervous breakdown.

Two days ago I was sleeping in my own warm bed in my own warm home. Mama cooked breakfast and made my lunch (I can't believe I didn't even say thank you, what kind of daughter am I? Did I even kiss her goodbye?), my little brother made me promise to play video games after school (sorry Souta, not my fault this time that I couldn't play), and grandpa was making up outrageous stories of when he was young, hoping I would listen to one instead of running off. I never made enough time for him and his stories. And now I am truly regretting it.

When I was a little kid I used to think he was lying about demons, figuring some of those mummified remains were just weird things he picked up in a junk shop or something. I always just thought Grandpa had an overactive imagination, or was maybe a little bit senile. But not quite ten years ago the demons made themselves known. Who knew that they had been living among us for centuries, just... hidden. Some in plain sight, some in caves and unexplored areas. Of course, as we started exploring more and more, they had less and less places to hide. I guess they got tired of hiding. Some were very rich from centuries of hoarding treasures, some just scraping by. Some tried to fit in with society, some... well... didn't.

I stumble a bit as I run. My heart is working too hard, my calves are on fire, and my lungs burn. I concentrate on running and try to think about how this all started to take my mind off the excruciating pain.

Two days ago I came home from school, the principal being unusually forgiving about the absurd sick note explaining my absence that my grandfather wrote. He has come up with every sort of disease known to man... or animal! It's very embarrassing. If he's going to lie, he should be consistent. Stick with one disease and just branch off with complications or something. Be a little realistic! The odds I'd get ALL those diseases are just astronomical!

The truth is, I rarely get sick. But my family's shrine isn't doing so well, and with my dad gone, well... sacrifices have to be made. In this case, my education. Can't tell the truth about all my absences because students aren't allowed to work, much less skip school to work. My mom could get in trouble too if they found out I spend a good portion of my days in priestess robes taking care of a shrine. My diploma won't matter anyhow, I'm supposed to take over our family's shrine when grandpa retires.

Of course it doesn't matter anymore... I'm good as dead. As soon as I stop running anyhow. Or until it catches me.

IT being the nine foot tall bear demon chasing me down. I shouldn't be able to outrun it. I've been lucky really, to have made it even this far. It is so big it can't follow through some of the tighter areas between the trees. Ducking into the woods is what saved my life. The bear demon has to take the time to knock down the trees before he can follow. Although he knocks them down at an alarming rate.

The cameraman seems to have no trouble following. None of them do. I gave up begging any of them for help about ten minutes ago. They aren't allowed to help.

Because this, of course, is the greatest reality television show ever.

The Last One Standing.

At first having demons living among us was frightening. After the first demon war (humans versus demons) was over we started living in a sort of a peace together. Then there was the second demon war. That was when the demons who didn't want to live by any society rules (like the ones on this island I'm running around on) tried to take over the world. The humans and our demon allies won and came up with this strange arrangement of having them isolated on a few different islands.

Of course, then the television producers saw great potential for new shows. The newest is Last One Standing. The gist of it is that twenty people are dumped off in the demonlands (where the most wild and inhumane demons choose to live together, and the rest of the world tries to keep them fenced in here). Whoever is the last one alive gets to go home. Yes. Alive. As in the only way to lose is to die. This means that you not only have to be afraid of the demons chasing you, but also your team mates, whose only way off the island is for you to be dead

When I came home from school that day and two strangers were at my doorstep, I had no idea I'd be tossed into their van to become their youngest competitor.

We were kept locked in tiny rooms on the boat ride here with a letter explaining the rules, then dumped off at separate locations on the island. Probably so we aren't tempted to kill each other as soon as we step off the boat. That would make for a very short show. Each of us is given one weapon to protect themselves. Or kill each other I suppose. Mine is a bow and one quiver of arrows. Twelve arrows... that's all I have. Twelve shots with a stupid arrow against who knows what everyone else got. What's worse if that I've never used a bow before, and this isn't exactly the ideal time to learn how.

The is the second season of the show. I never bothered watching the first. It seemed too gruesome. Now, however, I almost wished I had. Maybe I could have picked up some survival tips.

Maybe I'd have a chance at being alive.

Of course, no one wants to watch innocent people get murdered, so they choose criminals, vagrants, delinquents, and apparently schoolgirls with too many absences.

My legs give out and I can't help but sob as I crash to the ground. I'm too shaky to pull myself up. I have passed my limit. I've used the last drop of adrenaline. I have nothing left and I drop until my head hits the ground.

I wish I had been able to tell my mother I loved her.

I wish I had spent more time with my friends.

I wish... really REALLY wish... that I wasn't about to be mauled to death by a rampaging bear demon in front of millions of viewers for ratings.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Author's Note: It could happen...


	2. First Man Down

Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

Chapter Two:

Episode One: First Man Down

"First man down," chirped the annoying obviously dyed blonde woman with fake tiger ears on top of her head. It was a disgusting attempt to be cute. And it failed miserably. "And we're only two hours in. Nikko has the live coverage of the first man down. Or," she giggled from the television and gave an exaggerated wink, "Should I say first 'girl' down."

Inuyasha snarled, "Do you HAVE to watch that show, Miroku? It's insulting." Seeing the fake ears felt like he was being mocked. He flattened his own fuzzy ears against his head and glared at the woman on screen.

Miroku smiled warmly. "You are too touchy, Inuyasha. You know I watch the show trying to catch a glimpse of Sango in her demon slayer outfit in case they go after any of the crew." He turned to his friend with a knowing grin. "What's the matter? Did Kagome get tricked into going out on another date again? Why don't you just ask her out already? She obviously likes you back. And you wouldn't have those friends of hers always trying to set her up on dates. They'd leave her alone if she had a boyfriend, you know. Be a man."

"I'm a hanyou, not a man. And she's human. So just shut up and turn off this garba..." He froze. His world just tilted and came crashing. Then he shouted as he jumped to his feet. "TURN UP THE VOLUME!"

The dog demon didn't wait for his friend to move. He leapt over the coffee table in his friend's living room and pounced on the television set.

"This... can't be happening..."

Inuyasha watched in horror as he saw her on the screen. Kagome was curled up on herself, covering her head for all the good it would do her against the enormous bear demon approaching. No... not Kagome. It wasn't possible! It couldn't be Kagome! Why would she be there? MOVE KAGOME! RUN! His hands shook as his fingers touched her sobbing figure on the screen. It was her. He knew it was. He would recognize her anywhere! He barely registered Miroku kneeling down beside him, or the swear word that he had never before heard the monk say as he, too, recognized the figure on the screen.

"This is live feed," Miroku whispered as he clutched his prayer beads. "This is happening now."

"As you can see, folks, the high school delinquent is the first to be taken down. Let this be a lesson to all you kids out there," the woman laughed as she wagged her finger at the screen and winked again.

When I find that woman, Inuyasha swore darkly, I will kill her slowly.

"IT NOT FAIR!" they heard the dark haired girl on the television scream.

The camera zoomed in on her anguished face. The tears Inuyasha saw there ripped through his soul. He was in physical pain. How could this be happening to Kagome? No one on this earth is as kind as that stupidly soft hearted girl. Competitors are supposed to be hardened criminals with death sentences. What crime could Kagome possibly have committed to get her on this slaughterhouse of a show?

His heart stopped as he watched her tiny form against the backdrop of the giant demon. Was that blood on her arms and legs? Inuyasha felt sick to his stomach. He never could stand the sight of her blood, not even when she scraps her knee during gym. Even on screen it affected him. Get up, he begged her. Please get up. Then he was able to breathe again as she did. Inuyasha and Miroku watched as she rolled to her feet, her bow in hand, and shakily aimed an arrow at the bear. An arrow against a bear demon. What kinds of monsters arm a girl with a flimsy bow against an island of demons?

Kagome... don't give up.

"Please work," she pleaded with the arrow. The microphone barely picked up the sound, but Inuyasha heard her trembling voice.

Then an odd thing happened. The arrow began to glow. Open mouthed, Inuyasha saw the arrow fly, and arc of shooting sparks trailing after it. The camera moved away from Kagome and focused on the bear as the arrow struck. A second camera must have been there, a second smaller picture appeared on the screen of Kagome's arms dropping to her side. She turned her head as the bear screamed in agony. The force of the arrow took off its right arm and shoulder. It thrashed around, but Kagome simply stood there. Inuyasha shouted at her to move, grabbing the television set and shaking it. The bear finally fell, and then it was Kagome filling the screen once more. There was a close up as she took two deep breaths, then her knees buckled and she fell to the ground bonelessly.

"Look at that!" said the hostess said in surprise, though Inuyasha picked up a note of disappointment. "Guess she had a trick up her sleeve after all." Then the hostess perked up again, "It was a nice last stand. Kudos, kiddo. What a way to make an exit. Stay tuned to see who the next will be to fa... hold on folks." She put her hand to her where her headphone clung to her real ear.

Cameras zoomed in on the girl again. She was breathing shallowly, but she was breathing.

"Well, looks like she made it after all. She is just asleep." She sighed, not bothering to hide her disappointment this time. Oh yes, Inuyasha couldn't wait to meet this woman. He cracked his knuckles. Then the woman brightened up as someone handed her a sheet of paper. "Breaking news! A swarm of bee demons have cornered one of our competitors on the edge of a cliff! Let's see who wins this battle to the death!"

Just that quick, Kagome was gone, replaced by a picture of a man swinging an ax at over a dozen bees the size of sheepdogs.

Inuyasha pounded the floor, cracking the hard wood. Then he stood up and had Miroku by the throat against the wall in a heartbeat. He was growling and his eyes were tinted red, claws flexing. He was losing control.

"You get on the phone with that woman of yours," he snarled, "You tell her to get Kagome to safety. Now."

Miroku fumbled for his phone with one hand as the other was at his neck, trying to keep enough pressure away so that he could get a little air. Somehow he managed to pull it from his pocket and flip it open with one hand. He speed dialed Sango.

"Sango?" he gasped when he heard her soft 'hello'.

"Now's not a good time, Miroku," she sniffled.

He coughed, lungs beginning to burn. He could no longer swallow as Inuyasha's grip tightened. "Sa...nnn...go..." His vision blurred.

"I've already made my way through one tub of mint chocolate chip, leave me alone so I can get through the rocky road. I got fired! Can you believe that? FIRED!"

Inuyasha dropped Miroku and snatched the phone from his friend's twitching body.

"You," he growled. "Get Kagome out of there now or I will cut you down."

"Inuyasha? Is that you? I can barely make out what you're saying. Did you say something about Kagome?"

"Get her off that island NOW, slayer!"

There was silence on the other end of the line. Then a clinking sound, her spoon most likely being sat carefully back on the table. When she spoke again, Sango was strangely calm.

"Which island, Inuyasha?"

"Don't play dumb with me! Your island!" He swore at her viciously. "Get her off now!"

She gasped in horror. "No! Kagome isn't... she can't be!"

"I swear to you, Sango. I will kill you and every last breathing member of your family if you do not go get her right now.

Her voice stiffened. "I am no longer employed by Last One Standing, Inuyasha. I was fired. I heard they were planning on... expanding the criteria for applicants. They were going to go after minor violators. This was supposed to be about volunteers already on death row getting a cha..."

"SHUT UP! I WANT KAGOME BACK NOW!" His claws were digging into the floor, causing deep grooves in the wood.

"Inuyasha, listen to me. I. Am. Not. On. The. Island."

The dog demon howled, then crushed the phone in his fist. He breathed heavily, crouched low. His head snapped in Miroku's direction as the young man coughed.

"...koff...koff... how many times... koff... do I have to tell you," the monk wheezed as he pulled himself into a sitting position, "To end a call, all you have to do is close the lid."

"This is no time for jokes," Inuyasha snapped, "Kagome is in danger!"

Miroku sighed and rubbed his throat. "Yes, my friend. But we need to be calm. We need a plan." He ignored Inuyasha's outburst as he broke a nearby chair as he straightened his clothes. "Sango may not be on the island at the moment, but perhaps she can find a way to smuggle us into the island. We'll need a boat."

"Too slow."

"A plane, perhaps."

"TOO SLOW!"

"Well, my friend, I am all out of magic carpets and teleporters. What is it that you suggest?"

But Inuyasha couldn't think straight. He only felt the desperation of having to be on that island NOW. He had to find a way to her fast. He needed.... magic. He roared in frustration. Frantically he glanced back at the television, praying to have some glimpse of his friend. Instead he saw the man still fending off bees, then losing his footing and plummeting down a cliff. The perky woman came back on and cheerfully added the man's name and picture on some sort of digital score card. The first man was down. Unlike other programs, it wasn't a scripted one death a day. One season five died in an afternoon when they tried to band together. Kagome wasn't safe just because one man has been 'eliminated from competition'. Inuyasha could feel his teeth and claws lengthening.

It took a few moments, but a familiar voice finally broke through to him. He crouched down and turned to see their visitor. He hadn't heard her arrive. He hadn't heard anything but the pounding of his blood in his ears. Kagome's mother was at the door, sobbing hysterically.

"This was all a horrible mistake! I should have read the whole contract! They said it would clear her record." Her voice was close to shrieking. "They said she'd never go to college if she didn't have a clear record. It's my fault! I signed the paper! But they didn't say THIS would happen! I thought it was some sort of reform camp! Kagome was going to get in trouble for her absences. Kicked out of school! I had no choice!" Her voice faltered. "I thought I had no choice. Please... Please find my little girl," she begged Miroku before turning her tear stained face to Inuyasha, who never hated anyone as much as he hated that woman at that instant. "Bring her home!"

Miroku smiled sympathetically at the woman. "Mrs. Higurashi, we are going to try, but we can't promi..."

"I'll bring her home."

"Inuyasha," Miroku scolded gently, then said in a lowered voice, "We can't promise something like that. We can't promis..."

"I. Will. Bring. Her. Home." His eyes were golden fire and his voice a menacing rumble. No one was standing between him and rescuing Kagome. Not even Miroku.

Miroku sighed and rubbed his eyes. "What we need is a little magic."

Kagome's mother suddenly stopped crying. "You need magic?" She wiped her eyes, looking hopeful. "What kind?"

_Hold on, Kagome_, Inuyasha pleaded as he glanced back at the television screen. _Just hold on for me._

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

"Jump down the well?" Inuyasha turned a skeptical eye on Kagome's grandfather. He shifted the yellow backpack Kagome's mother had stuffed with food and a sweater. "What've you been smokin', old man?"

"It's an old family spell," he assured the dog demon, "Our ancient ancestors used this very same spell once. There was this priestess Kikyo who once..."

"Ain't interested in no history lesson, old man. I just want Kagome." His cheeks turned pink. "...er... to get safely home."

Miroku was as skeptical as his companion. "What exactly kind of magic is this?" he asked.

Kagome's grandfather took a deep breath and began to launch into a detailed explanation of how the magic worked. The portal would appear where Kagome is. The spell is attached to the jewel the girl always wore. Inuyasha didn't care how it worked. All he cared about was if Kagome was on the other side of the well. It didn't look like he had many options, so he took a deep breath and jumped, preparing for a bone jarring landing on the bottom of the dusty old well. He had to take the chance.

Miroku watched in astonishment as a blue light engulfed his friend. "It worked," he said in amazement.

"Of course it worked."

Miroku bowed. "Thank you for your help. We will return shortly with your granddaughter."

He leapt over the side of the well.

THUMP!

Stars burst behind his eyes and he groaned. His legs felt like they were on fire. He wondered if he broke any bones. After a quick inspection, he decided he was just bruised, not broken. He looked up to see Kagome's grandfather looking down at him.

"Huh," he said as he scratched his head, "Guess it only works the one time."

Miroku let his head fall against the side of the well. "Will it bring them back?"

There was no answer. Miroku looked up to see Kagome's family looking worriedly at each other. Well, if nothing else, at least Inuyasha would be able to protect Kagome. That is... IF that was where the well took him. And that was a big 'if'. But, he had to have faith. And hope. With a smile he began climbing out of the well. Now all he had to do was call his favorite demon slayer and see about renting a boat.

"Good luck," he whispered to Inuyasha before he pulled himself over the lip of the well. "You'll need it."

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Author's Note: Sorry for the long delay. Hope no one has given up on the story yet.


	3. Fight or Flight

Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

Chapter Three:

Episode Two: Fight or Flight

"Welcome back viewers! It's another exciting day at Last Man Standing! Who will be the next to fall? Will they fight or run for their lives? Stay tuned and find out!"

Kagome groaned, that annoyingly cheerful voice dragging her back to consciousness. Her head hurt. Her legs hurt. Her arms hurt. In fact, pretty much everything hurt. Even her hair hurt. Her hope that this was all a dream died a little as she felt the rocks digging into her side. Slowly and painfully she sat up. Looking over she saw one of the camera men watching a small portable television. So that's where the voice came from. As soon as they noticed her moving they snapped off the volume and trained the camera back on her as they tried to become inconspicuous once more.

Jerks.

As Kagome began to stand on wobbly legs, the memory of the fight slammed into her. She was so startled by the images that she fell back on her rear. She had been attacked by a demon! And she shot it! She scrunched up her brow in thought, amazed that she had been able to actually shoot it. Wait... wasn't there some sort of light? Did that come from the arrow? HER arrow??? She looked at the quiver of arrows and picked one of them up. She inspected it closely, but as far as she could tell, it was just an arrow. How very odd. Putting the arrow back, Kagome tried to think of what she should do next.

Running seemed stupid. She didn't know where she was going. She didn't even know where she was. Staying put, however, seemed even stupider. And she didn't care if that was a real word or not! Briefly she wondered if it was her grammar teacher who had her sent to this place.

Gingerly Kagome got back on her feet. She brushed off her skirt and wished fervently that she had on a pair of jeans. Especially after seeing the angry red slashes along her bare legs. As if seeing the scratches was their cue to start stinging, her legs suddenly felt like she had been cut by fire. She was sure it was some sleazy sicko who thought her running around in this place in her school uniform would get more ratings. Gritting her teeth, Kagome secured her quiver of arrows and bow and began walking away from the sun. She had no particular place in mind to go, so walking against the bright sunlight seemed like as good of a plan as any. She chose the open road rather than the forest. Sure the forest had more hiding places. But that meant more hiding places for the demons too. At least in the open she had a shot at seeing them first.

Her heart beat loud in her chest as she nervously started down the path out into the open. She jumped at every shadow that moved. A loud growling stopped the girl's feet from moving. She put her hand to her stomach, and it growled again.

"I would kill for a cheeseburger," she sighed. "You guys don't happen to have any food on you, do you?" The crew was silent and still, apparently still pretending they were invisible. It's not like she really expected anything different.

Her eyes stopped looking for demons, and started looking for anything edible. If demons didn't kill her, starvation just might. Or thirst. Thirstation? So far she hadn't seen any water. How could there be no water? This was an island! She couldn't remember being quite this hungry before. Her hands were beginning to shake slightly

Up ahead she saw something strange. Something familiar looking. It was a well! She began to run towards it. Mouth already watering at the thought of a cool drink. If she was lucky it would be clean and fresh. If it wasn't... well.... she'd just maybe close her eyes and drink it. She tripped once, falling to the ground and skinning her knee.

"Just great," she complained as she wiped away the blood.

Picking herself back up she began to walk towards the well. Running was a bad idea anyhow, she told herself. It uses too much energy and might draw the attention of something with sharp claws and teeth.

Of course the well was dry. It was too much to hope for that the silly thing would actually be useful. Kagome felt tears prick at her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She took a deep, steadying breath, and turned away from the cameramen who were greedily hoping for a few tears to help bolster the ratings. The scavengers... Instead, Kagome flipped her hair back over her shoulder and began walking calmly on, as if finding out that her oasis was nothing more than an illusion hadn't shattered her.

She hoped that she could find something out there. Something to make it through this nightmare.

Hope, it seemed, was the only thing she had left.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

It was a little disconcerting to be falling down, then falling up. Suddenly, after an endless disorienting journey, Inuyasha's feet touched solid ground. He was still in the well. His stomach was rolling.

He took a deep breath to yell at Kagome's grandfather for wasting his precious time, then he noticed the smells. This was not Kagome's family shrine. The air was filled with the scent of salt water, foliage, and blood. Quickly he jumped out of the well, clearing it by several feet. When he landed, he dropped down to a crouch. He scanned the unfamiliar area, and sniffed the air.

There it was.

Kagome's scent.

The scent of her blood made his stomach roll. It wasn't much, so hopefully she wasn't too badly injured. Still... he hated the thought of Kagome bleeding at all. Inuyasha studied the area, looking for any trace of his friend.

No....

He sniffed the air again.

Oh no!

He took off at a dead run into the unfamiliar terrain. He caught Kagome's scent alright. She was heading straight towards the stench of a nest of demons! That piddly little bow of hers wasn't going to save her this time. He HAD to get to her before she reached them. He just had to!

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

There were hundreds of them... or it seemed like it. Even the cameramen were nervous.

Apparently, Kagome scolded herself, I chose poorly.

She had literally stumbled into the demons' camp. Glancing up at the small hill she had skidded down, she cursed the exposed root she had tripped over. Her shadows had let her fall, capturing every bump on film. One day, she vowed, they would get what was coming to them. Somehow, some way. Maybe her grandpa knew a spell to turn them into mice for her cat to chase. The thought made her smile.

The smile, however, abruptly disappeared when the first demon began licking its chops. Suddenly she felt very much like the mouse about to become dinner.

"Leave her be, boys," boomed a voice. "She's mine!"

Before her stood a young man with long dark hair that blew in the breeze. He smiled at her... and she noticed the pointy teeth... and the pointy ears. Her heart began to beat harder. His bright blue eyes studied her, and he seemed to be wearing... fur?

"I am Kouga, prince of the wolf demons." He inhaled deeply, grinned, then reached out and grabbed her wrist. "I claim you as my woman."

"Whaaaat????"

Kagome tried to step backwards and snatch her hand back, but he had it gripped tight. From the corner of her eye she saw the cameramen trying to get a better angle. Jerks.

"I give to you my protection, woman."

"Um... thank you for your kind... uh... offer," Kagome said as politely as possible as she continued to try to pry her hand out of his grip, though he didn't even seem to notice her struggle. "But I don't even know you."

He cocked his head to the side and looked at her again with his cool eyes. It was like he saw something there that she couldn't. It was a little flattering, but very very disturbing. But at least the other demons seemed to no longer be threatening. In fact, they looked curious. Curious, but still very scary. And kinda hungry. Was that an arm someone was munching on? Suddenly she was glad she hadn't eaten.

"They will try to kill you here," he whispered as he leaned close, his breath tickling her ear. "They will kill you and cheer as your blood paints the earth. They will play the scene over and over, to see every gory detail as you die a painful and horrible death. And then they will forget about you when the watch the next episode." Kagome gulped. Then he pulled back a little and smiled at her, showing his pointed teeth. "But I can keep you safe. Stay with me, and I'll keep you safe. You have my word."

Death... or staying with this oddly suddenly possessive wolf demon? Kagome was willing to take her chances out there. Though Kouga seemed pleasant enough, there was something about him that was a little unsettling.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF KAGOME!!!"

Suddenly her view was blocked by a familiar red fire rat robe.

No way!

NO WAY!

It was impossible!

Inuyasha?

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Author's Note: Sorry for the long delay, it couldn't be helped. Hope no one has given up on the story yet.


	4. What, No Cheeseburger?

Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

Chapter Four:

What? No Cheeseburger?

"Inuyasha?"

Kagome was in shock. Out of all the people in the world, Inuyasha was the last she would expect to show up and save her. Though she certainly wasn't about to complain.

Inuyasha had come to save her…

She had met him on the first day they integrated the demons into the schools. Some jerk had shot him with an arrow, pinning him to the god tree at her family's shrine. It was supposed to have been a warning she supposed. Though she couldn't say if it was for the demons or for her family; who was well known for welcoming and helping all, even the newly out-ed demons. So she had taken the arrow out and bandaged him up. She hadn't saved his life or anything. He would have eventually freed himself and healed on his own. But he still seemed determined to watch out for her after that.

She thought they had grown to be friends. She had even thought that she just might be in love with him. That is, until after last summer when Sango and Miroku graduated. Then he stopped speaking to her altogether, avoiding her like she had a contagious disease. She had tried to talk to him, to cry and beg and plead or whatever it would have taken to get his friendship back, but he always took off. Eventually she stopped trying.

From the corner of her eye she saw Kouga sniff the air then make a face.

"A half breed," he snarled in disgust. "Get out of here, dog breath. The girl is mine."

"Get your hands off her and you may walk out of this alive, wolf." Inuyasha didn't look the least bit intimidated, which didn't seem possible. After all, he was just one facing a whole horde of very scary looking demons.

"You're outnumbered, mongrel," the wolf demon sneered. He let go of Kagome's hand and began circling Inuyasha, who used one arm to keep her behind him. The two males growled at each other viciously. Then Kouga spoke to his pack. "Get him!"

Without thinking, Kagome took a step in front of Inuyasha. The demons froze uncertainly.

"I'm sorry," she said in what she hoped sounded like an apologetic tone and gave a half bow, "But I'm afraid there has been some sort of misunderstanding here."

"Kagome!" Inuyasha snapped, "Move..."

But she ignored him. "Though I am flattered," she winced inwardly at the blatant lie, "By your... um... interest?" Was that the word she was looking for? She hoped so. Plastering a smile on her face she continued. "But I'm not really not ready for any sort of uh... relationship at this point in my life." The cameramen were laughing at her. She wished she had something to throw at them. It wasn't like she had any practice letting a guy down? No one had ever shown a romantic interest in her before. Wait, wasn't she supposed to mention something about being friends? "But... um... we can... uh... be friends...."

Unfortunately the Let's Be Friends speech did not quite work the same way with this particular wolf demon as it was supposed to work on boys. Kouga's eyes lit up with an icy blue fire. Inuyasha growled at the look.

"You keep your filthy hands off of her, wolf. Now."

Kouga laughed. "I'm supposed to be afraid of YOU? Ha! You hide behind the skirts of a female!"

Inuyasha snarled. "You hide behind your pack."

With a smile, Kouga held up his hand to the still advancing pack. "Hold back," he ordered them. "This is between me and the mutt."

Kagome backed up slowly as Inuyasha crouched. She had seen him do that before. Many times. Back when they were still friends. It was the stance he took when he was about to launch himself at the enemy. In the past it had been cruel schoolmates and lecherous men at the bus stop. Once on a school camping trip he had taken that same stance right before he took down an angry bear that Kagome had stumbled upon by accident when she had gotten lost. But this... these demons... that was a lot different than taking down a bully at school.

"Get to safety," he growled softly at her.

Kagome nodded, not that he could see, and made her way to the edge of the hill where she had fallen. She hadn't noticed the two demons sitting there until she tripped over them. At first she thought she landed on an animal. Then she realized it was the wolf skin pelts that they wore for clothes (ew… she didn't even want to THINK about that). Her heart leapt to her throat, but the one with the mohawk simply helped her back to her feet.

"I'm Hakkaku," he introduced himself. "This is Ginta. I guess this makes you our sister now."

"Sister?" She laughed nervously, "Um... I don't th..."

"Shh, they are starting!" Ginta excitedly leaned forward to watch the fight. He reminded her so much of her little brother that Kagome almost laughed.

Her laughter died as Kouga threw his first punch. It was so fast! Faster than anything she had ever seen before! Even with Inuyasha's incredible reflexes he was unable to dodge it. The force of the blow sent Inuyasha flying back several yards. Kagome's heart stopped beating, just before it started racing in terror. Kouga was going to kill Inuyasha! A flash of silver let her know that her friend had launched himself at the wolf demon, but he was so fast that most of the hits didn't connect. He was knocked back a second time. Wiping blood from his mouth he simply smirked at his opponent.

"That all you got, wolf?"

"Leave now, dog, and you may live to see tomorrow."

Inuyasha snarled and flew at him, claws raking the handsome wolf from chest to belly before landing on the balls of his feet and spinning around. Both opponents breathed heavily as they glared at each other. Then Kouga began to run. He raced in circles around Inuyasha, so fast he created a miniature tornado.

"He runs so fast!" Kagome cried out.

"He had shards of the Shikon jewel in his legs and an arm," confided Ginta, "They give him and extra boost of power!"

It wasn't a fair fight! He was cheating!

Kagome looked around, looking for something that might help Inuyasha in the battle. She nearly cried in frustration. There wasn't even a rock big enough to bash the demon in the head with! She saw her yellow school backpack on the ground a few yards away. Tears filled her eyes as she realized that Inuyasha must have brought supplies with him. Quickly she made a run for the bag. Well, she tried to

"Sister!" cried Hakkaku as he snagged her arm. "Please don't! It's not safe!"

"I need that bag!"

The wolf demon gulped, then shoved her towards Ginta. "I'll get it for you."

He wasn't as fast as Kouga, but he was pretty dang quick. Managing to dodge flying debris from the fight, Hakkaku dashed to the bag, grabbed it, and ran back. Kagome opened the bag and started rummaging through it. Ramen. Ramen. Ramen. Bottled water. Ramen. Books? What the heck? Did they expect her to do homework while fighting for her life??? Were they crazy? Did they think SHE was? She tossed the books aside and continued looking. But there was nothing but food and bottles of water in the bag, and a small kettle. Too small and light to bash anything. Nothing even resembling a weapon was in there.

Ginta and Hakkaku were peering over her shoulder as she slowly put everything back in the pack with a disheartened sigh.

"What are you looking for, sister?" asked Ginta.

It didn't really seem like a very wise decision to tell them she was looking for a weapon for Inuyasha to use against their leader. What Inuyasha really needed was a sword. At home, he was amazing with swords. When he was still talking to her he would come over and practice with her grandfather's old swords. At school he had been kicked out of fencing because absolutely no one could touch him, and he was rather overly aggressive. But he had been amazing then too.

"A sword?" replied Ginta. Kagome winced, realizing she must have spoken out loud. When did she pick up that bad habit? She hoped she hadn't been doing that the entire time. How embarrassing would it be if her every thought was being televised so everyone could hear? She didn't even want to try to imagine. "There's one in that cave over there. But why do you need a sword?"

Kagome's hopes soared. Her hands clasped in front of her as she looked at the wolf demon hopefully.

"Don't be an idiot," Hakkaku said as he bopped Ginta over the head. "No one can move that sword. It's enchanted. It has been stuck in that stone for hundreds of years."

"A sword in a stone?" Kagome almost laughed. It seemed too silly to be true. Even if it was true... it was enchanted. And this was no fairytale, and she wasn't some sort of princess. Her hopes deflated. There would be no way she could budge it. She couldn't even get the top off the pickle jar without asking someone for help.

"BLADES OF BLOOD!"

Kagome watched in fascinated horror as Inuyasha reached up and hurled some of his own blood at Kouga. The droplets had turned into tiny little... well, they kind of looked like boomerangs! Since when could he do that? They seemed sharp enough as they gouged the tree behind Kouga, who had jumped out of the way. Then the wolf demon was suddenly in the air once more, and spun to get even more force behind his kick. Inuyasha was able to leap away in the nick of time, but the tree he was near was severed in half.

IN HALF!

She had to try. Silly fairytale or not, Kagome had to try to get that sword.

"Can you show me where it is?" she asked Ginta.

His eyes darted from the fight to her, back to the fight. She could see that he really wanted to stay and watch the bloody brawl. She gave him a smile and barely restrained herself from patting him on the head. The pointy teeth showing reminded her that though he may act little brother-like, he was not a harmless kid.

"That's okay," she told him, "Just point me in the right direction."

"We'll take you," said Hakkaku.

"But I wanna watch the fiiiiight..."

Hakkaku bopped Ginta on the head again.

Kagome followed the bickering wolf demons, looking back one more time to see Inuyasha slugging Kouga in the jaw. She wished him luck, and hurried to find his weapon. Kouga was cheating by using those magical shards. She would just have to help even up the score.

When she saw the cave, she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Uhhh..."

"Hurry!" whined Ginta, "I want to make it back to see the rest of the fight."

"That's a mouth."

The demons stared at her blankly.

"The entrance... its a mouth...."

Hakkaku grinned as he finally understood what she meant. "Sure it is. It's the bones of a great demon. The sword is inside."

They wanted her to walk... into the mouth… of a demon? Okay fine, it was the bones of a demon dead maybe a thousand years (who really knew? she wasn't a paleontologist). But still. It was just... well... icky.

"Are you scared, sister?" asked Hakkaku with concern. He was heading back to her, but she held up her hand to stop him.

She plastered a smile on her face (again) and shook her head. At this point she really didn't trust her voice to speak. She heard a tree falling and a bellow of rage, so she hurried into the cave. Sure she felt all sorts of squeamish, but she had to do something to help Inuyasha. Even if he had been a jerk all year long, he was still her friend.

It wasn't as far back as she thought it would be. But the insides definitely were as disturbing as she thought they might. She could see rib bones and tail bones and the spine. She shivered. There was a reason she steered away from biology classes or going on shopping trips to 'specialty' shops with her grandpa. She didn't much care for being around dead things. It was just creepy. And... sad. She shook the feelings away and focused on the sword in the middle of the open area. Running was impossible with all the rocklike things she had to climb over (she didn't want to speculate on what they might be if they weren't actually stone), but she moved quickly. She even outdistanced the wolves. They may be fast, but they didn't seem too coordinated when it came to obstacle courses.

Kagome put her hands on the hilt of the sword as soon as she reached the rock. She put her right foot on it and gave a mighty pull. The sword pulled free so fast she stumbled back and landed on her rear. She was glad the camera men had decided to focus on the fight rather than follow her. She wasn't too keen on the idea of the whole world seeing her fall. Again. There is only so much humiliation a girl could take. And why didn't the stupid uniforms come with shorts?

Standing up she faced too stunned wolf demons.

"Well," she said, hefting the sword up. Her white uniform top would never be clean again. But that was okay. If she lived through all this she was burning it all then burying the ashes. "Let's get going!"

She hurried out of the cave, leaving the two stunned wolves. Eventually they caught back up with her once she was halfway back to the battlefield.

"How did you do that?" gasped Ginta. "We've all tried! Kouga tried! No one could move that sword!"

"She pulled it out like it was nothing!"

"It was magic!"

"Wait 'til Kouga finds out!"

"Amazing!"

"Can you guys shut up for a minute?" griped Kagome. Running with a sword was difficult enough. Being distracted by the wolf demons didn't really help matters. She was close. Hopefully close enough. "INUYASHA!"

Hakkaku grabbed one of her arms, Ginta grabbed the other. Then they lifted her off her feet and raced with her back to their original hiding spot. Kagome thanked them then started running towards her friend.

The other wolf demons let out a gasp. Kouga stopped fighting and stared at her. Inuyasha got in one more punch before stopping as well. Perhaps wondering what had happened to their fight. He watched as Kagome ran to him. Though he didn't like the sudden grin that was appearing on the wolf demon's face.

"The sword," he whispered in awe.

"She pulled it out!" called Ginta. "All on her own!"

"She did! We saw her with our own eyes!" yelled out Hakkaku. "She broke the spell!"

Kagome felt a little uncomfortable by all the sudden attention. She handed Inuyasha the rusty old sword. He took it from her, then scowled furiously at it.

"This is a sword? It's all beaten up and chipped. I doubt it could cut paper."

Before Kagome could yell at him about being an ungracious jerk, Kouga interrupted her.

"Wait. You gave HIM the sword?"

She turned her wrath on him instead. "Well you cheated! You used those shards!" She pointed to the sparkling pink areas on his arm and legs. "So it evened things up a bit." Though with the state of the old sword, she wasn't sure it was going to help any better than a butter knife.

Kouga blinked at her. "You can see the shards?"

Kagome realized she probably made a huge mistake. "Uhhh..."

"We told her you had them," said Hakkaku in a hushed voice, "But we didn't tell her exactly where."

Now not only was the camera focused on her, but so was the attention of every demon within earshot. And with those pointy ears, that was saying something. Kagome drew closer to Inuyasha. He swept her behind him once again. This time he held the sword in front of him threateningly as his growl rumbled steadily. Some of the demons began to laugh.

Then the sword transformed.

And they stopped laughing.

It must have been magic. Because one moment the sword was small and battered, the next it was HUGE! It was like a sword out of a manga or video game! Oddly enough, Inuyasha held it just as easily as he had held the small sword. It was like it was meant for him.

Kouga stood tall.

"I'll let you protect her for now, dog. But never forget that she is my woman. I will be back to claim her soon."

And with that, he took off. The clan of wolf demons followed. Only Ginta and Hakkaku held back long enough to wish their sister well. Then they ran after Kouga, calling for him to wait up.

And that was that.

The battle was won.

Sort of.

The adrenaline began to fade. And her legs began to tremble. She knew she had to sit down or fall down. So she chose to sit down near her pack. She looked up at Inuyasha, who was staring back at her with concerned eyes. She had to say something to him. But what could she say after all this time? And after he just saved her from certain death! Or worse! Pulling her legs close to her body she wrapped her arms around them and looked up at her friend. She hadn't spoken to him in nearly a year. What would be the first words she spoke to him after all that time? And after saving her from a horde of demons. So, she said the first thing that came to her mind.

"What? No cheeseburgers?"

She was hungry! She couldn't help it!

She was mortified. Her stomach rumbled loudly. Inuyasha dropped the point of his sword to the ground and began laughing. Kagome couldn't help but join in. For one moment it felt like they had gone back in time. Back to being friends.

"Let's get out of here," he said as he extended his hand to help her up. Then he smiled. "I promise you all the cheeseburgers you can eat when we get home."

Home.

Her eyes welled with tears. With Inuyasha, she actually had a chance of making it home.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Author's Note: Hope you guys are still enjoying the story. Thanks for your encouragement. I've been going through a difficult time lately, so it has not been easy getting chapters out in a timely manner. I hope you guys can bear with me and stick it out.


	5. Double Jeopardy

Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

Chapter Five:

Episode Three: Double Jeopardy

"Welcome back loyal viewers! It's another exciting day at Last Man Standing! So far in game only one contestant down, but fear not! Today may be our lucky day! Let's see what our contestants are up to today!"

"When I find that woman I am going to rip off her head and stuf..."

"Inuyasha!"

"What?"

"You can't threaten to murder people on television."

"Maim, Kagome. Maim THEN murder." Inuyasha wheeled around suddenly and pointed at the cameraman. "Did you get that on tape? I'm coming for you! You better hide, little girl!"

Kagome giggled. She couldn't help it. Maybe it was the fact that she was no longer alone. Maybe it was that with Inuyasha here suddenly she knew she was going to survive this whole ordeal. He certainly didn't look frightened or nervous. Or maybe she had finally snapped and had gone insane. Whatever the reason, it was the first time she had felt so good in a long time. Losing his friendship had been like losing a part of her soul. She was barely able to keep from grabbing his hand and skip along like they were in grade school.

"I wouldn't sleep too soundly if I were you either," he warned the cameramen, who gulped loudly and took a couple steps back.

She wanted to scold him. Really. But she knew that if she opened her mouth she'd never stop laughing. His eyes smiled at her, but his mouth continued to frown. She tried to school her own features into a stern frown, but couldn't manage it. So instead she merrily waved to the camera and turned towards the direction Inuyasha had come. They were going to find the well and get home. She could almost taste nice juicy hot cheeseburgers and smooth chocolate milk shakes. OH! And to comb her hair! That would be heaven! And they were just within her grasp. Surely they would reach the well by lunchtime, then it was just one jump (according to Inuyasha) and she would be back at home.

Naturally the first thing Kagome wanted to as Inuyasha as they started walking was why the heck he started avoiding her and where had he been. She glanced at him, the question on the tip of her tongue, but she held back. Having The Discussion on television in front of millions (billions?) of viewers seemed to just reek of bad idea. He was back. Maybe that should be enough. At least for now. Once they got back to the shrine she'd grill him for information if she had to tie him to the god tree. Whatever was wrong, they'd fix it. Whatever happened they could get over. She wasn't letting him get away now that she had him again.

"Oh for.... Just ask! Quit looking at me from the corner of your eye. It's creeping me out!"

Kagome couldn't help it, she smacked him on the arm.

"I'm trying to respect your feelings," she griped.

"What???"

She glanced at the cameras then back at him. She spoke in a low quiet voice. "We have an audience you know."

"Want me to kill them?" He, however, did not speak in a quiet voice.

Tempting. Very tempting. And she could have sworn she heard a whimper from behind them. Just for kicks she was sorely tempted to say yes and 'sic 'em boy!" just to see their reactions. That would teach them to give her no privacy. Maybe she'd finally be able to have a bath. All this walking and running must make her absolutely reek. It was a wonder Inuyasha could stand close to her with his sensitive nose. Halfway through a daydream about bubble baths Kagome realized that Inuyasha was still waiting for her to answer.

"Um... no. No, of course not." She gave them an encouraging smile. "Not yet," she mumbled, making her companion laugh.

"So ask already. They're so far away they can't pick up anything now."

"But..."

"ASK."

"FINE! Just where in th..."

The question was cut short by a scream. Chills ran up Kagome's spine. It was a human scream. And it was close.

"Later," Inuyasha said as he grabbed her arm. "Let's get out of here."

Kagome pulled her arm away. "But the screams are coming from that direction," she pointed in the opposite direction Inuyasha was heading.

"Demons Kagome. What do you think is making him scream? Let's go."

"We can't just leave him!"

Inuyasha cocked his head to the side and looked at her like she had finally lost all her senses. Then his eyes gentled and he put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. At least that was what she thought he was doing. He patted her shoulder a couple times then scooped her up and started running away from the screams.

"We have to help!"

"He's a criminal, Kagome. It's his fate. That's why he's on this show."

"I am on this show too. Is that my fate?"

Inuyasha swore and slowed to a stop. He looked away from her as he set her feet on the ground. He folded his arms and took a few deep breaths while muttering to himself. Finally he turned back to Kagome with blazing gold eyes.

"You would be risking your life to help a stranger. A criminal."

Kagome's voice was strangled as she tried to talk past the sob threatening to come out. "I can't stand around and let someone die. I can't...."

Punching the ground, Inuyasha swore some more. Then he stayed in a crouched position, lowered his head, and sighed.

"Fine. Climb on. Let's go get ourselves killed."

"That's the spirit!"

Jumping up on him, Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Once again she wished that she hadn't been nabbed in her school uniform. Jerks. She hoped her mom was suing their pants off. That was her last thought before she was left breathless.

Holding on to Inuyasha while he was running at full speed was like nothing imaginable. It was so fast! The world was a blur. It made the rollercoasters she'd been on seem like baby choo choo rides. It stole her breath and she held on tighter. Her heart raced and she felt the inexplicable urge to laugh and squeal. Though considering where they were heading, that could be inappropriate. But at least they lost their cameramen for awhile.

The urge to laugh died as Inuyasha slowed and she saw the scene in front of them. Several demons were destroying the clearing, and a man lay dead in their midst. In many pieces. A few pieces were being dined on by some kind of boar demon. Kagome inhaled sharply and hid her face in Inuyasha's hair. She tried very hard not to throw up.

"It's not too late to turn back," he said gently. "There's still time."

Death…. She'd never seen death before. Not really. On television or movies death wasn't so… real. It was quickly forgotten, simply an element to tell a story. But this…. This was devastating. The smell of blood made her gag. She was shaking. This man had been alive only a few minutes ago. He had a life. Maybe a family. He had a future. And now… now he's dead. Everything was taken from him. Everything. It was a stupid death. A senseless death. Kagome prayed that Souta wasn't watching. When she got home she'd make sure he never watched another reality television show. Never!

All she wanted was to go home. She just wanted Inuyasha to take her home. She wanted to crawl in her own bed and cry for a week.

"Inu…"

Another man's scream closed her mouth and made up her mind. They had to save the other man. They had to save who they could. They couldn't run away. With eyes full of tears Kagome shook her head. She didn't trust herself to speak. So silently she followed Inuyasha as he ran towards the demons with his sword drawn. She readied her bow as she ran.

Inuyasha's sword ripped through three demons before Kagome caught up to him. She grabbed an arrow and aimed it between the eyes of the largest demon. This time she wasn't so surprised when it sparkled pink. She was a little startled, however, to find that even the sparks from the arrow seemed to eat at the demons it passed like acid. Pink sparkly acid.

The man continued to scream, begging for help. Kagome saw Inuyasha fighting his way towards the demon that had him. He wouldn't make it in time. But she could. Quickly she drew another arrow and pulled back the bowstring.

Kagome's tried to keep her panic at bay when the screaming stopped. She couldn't break down now. With a shaking breath and trembling fingers she let the arrow fly. She couldn't bring herself to look at what was left of the last demon. The one holding the man. The very silent man. She was grateful when Inuyasha made short work of the rest of the demons. The demons disappeared in a blast of dust, but what remained of the man fell to the ground. Kagome dropped to her knees and hugged her stomach.

And screamed.

She couldn't stop. It was too much. It was all too much. Her hands went to her eyes, she might have clawed out her own eyes if her hands weren't taken from her face.

Warm arms surrounded her, effectively trapping her arms to her sides.

"Shhh Kagome. Shhhhh." He rocked her gently until the screaming stopped. She was lifted from the ground, and her head was held facing Inuyasha's chest. "Don't look. Okay? Just don't look."

She didn't.

Absently she noticed that he managed to grab her bow and arrows. She heard the rustling in the leaves as the cameramen got their shots of the carnage and the voice of the announcer coming from someone's portable television. Her eyes squeezed shut, trying to block the image of the slain men from her mind. What kind of monsters were these men? Who would make such a show? And how could that announcer make it seem like some sort of prize that two men died so horrible. _Double the excitement! Double the pleasure!_ She was sick!!! What was WRONG with her? With all of them?

"I wanna go home," Kagome whispered as she held on to her friend tighter.

"I'll keep you safe, Kagome," Inuyasha whispered back. "I swear it.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Author's Note: I want to thank the very kind people who are so supportive and who make writing a joy. You know who you are! *smiles*


	6. Foxy Mama

Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

Chapter Six:

Episode Four: Foxy Lady

At first it had been a little flattering. His ego had swelled to enormous proportions. He had felt like one of those heroes you see in the animes. But now... now he was simply just worried.

Kagome had been so shaken by the demons and the fight that she kept clutching the sleeve of his shirt and wouldn't let Inuyasha leave her sight. That was the part that had been so flattering. But then ... well... When just trying to answer the call of nature and needed a little privacy, Kagome's voice had been fearful, on the edge of panic, until he was back at her side. Her heart was constantly racing, and Inuyasha was terrified that she would drop dead of a heart attack at any moment. He was a nervous wreck! This timid trembling girl was not the Kagome he knew.

"Don't worry," he told her, "I'll protect you. I'll get you out of here," he promised her once more. But as the hours went by, she seemed to stop believing it. The occasional whimper that escaped broke his heart and made him feel useless.

"NOOOOooooo!" Inuyasha stopped in his tracks, ears twitching towards the cry. "HELP! Someone HELP!"

The sound was too faint for Kagome to hear, but as soon as he stopped she went into a panic.

"What's wrong?" she asked, voice edged with hysteria. "More demons?"

"You think we'd just be strolling along whistling a happy tune if there were demons about to attack?" he returned grumpily.

Apparently the idea of Inuyasha whistling was humorous, because Kagome's lips actually threatened to smile. He softened towards her. She wasn't cut out for this sort of thing. Despite her often brash attitude at school (often jumping to his defense), she was a very gentle person at heart. He was glad of her poor human hearing. He was glad she couldn't hear the constant screaming and cursing of the other contestants. Just this morning another contestant had been killed. Eaten actually. By several different demons. The dog demon was fairly certain he had heard the perky voice of the commentator making a joke of the death. Not that most of the contestants didn't deserve death. Generally the contestants were on death row for some heinous crime against humanity. The fact that they would take Kagome....

The cry came again. The voice was young. A child's voice.

It had to be a demon child. Surely even THIS television station hadn't stooped so low... It was a kid for crying out loud. Of course, he wouldn't really put it past them.

Demon children were just as dangerous as adult demons, some even more so. They often looked cute and innocent, but soon as they lure you close they munch on your bones, just like the big ones. Not to mention the fact that this could be some elaborate trap set up by the producers. A part of him instinctually readied itself to protect the innocent sounding kid... but Kagome was the most important thing in life. He couldn't risk her. Not for anything.

"PLEASE!"

Kagome's head snapped up.

"Did you hear that?"

Inuyasha sighed. This was gonna get ugly.

"Hear what?"

Kagome was looking around anxiously. "I thought I heard a little kid!" The cry came again. "I did! Hurry Inuyasha!"

He sighed again. "Kagome... it could be a trap...."

"Inuyashaaaaa...."

He tried to fight her, to use common sense. But it was almost like she had some sort of spell on him the way he couldn't help but bend to her will! He bent his knees and motioned for her to climb on his back. He had a bad feeling about this. But he couldn't deny Kagome what she wanted. Especially since it was the first time since the battle that she hadn't had the terrified tone in her voice.

The scene they ran across was gruesome. Kagome gasped beside him, then she vomited. Considering the lump of torn flesh at their feet, he didn't really blame her.

The cries were coming from a very scuffed up looking fox demon child. His emerald eyes were blazing as he stood over the remains of an unidentifiable creature. Then Inuyasha saw the freshly skinned fox pelt in the hands of a very human looking demon who was laughing from a very big bald ugly demon. That unidentifiable creature must be what was left of the kid's father. Rage burned inside of him. The poor kid.

The kit turned and looked at them pleadingly. The demons gave them no notice.

"Is... is that his....?" Kagome's voice was barely audible.

Inuyasha nodded.

Before he could draw his sword, Inuyasha felt something searing his skin. With a yelp he jumped to the side. He reached for Kagome to draw her to safety... until he realized that SHE was the danger.

She was glowing in a pink fire, hair whipping around in an invisible wind. It was impossible... but it seemed like she had grown several feet. Either that or everyone around her shrunk. Inuyasha straightened up when he realized he was crouched down.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE." It wasn't a scream. It was like her voice had been projected to five times its strength. It was said calmly and coldly, as she drew an arrow back and let it loose. It didn't hit either demon. It went above their heads, but inexplicable burst in midair and showered the demons with pink fire that sizzled on their skin. Kagome looked very much like one of the statues of a warrior goddess that Miroku kept in his room. The only thing ruining the effect was the schoolgirl outfit.

Wisely the demon dropped the kit, though most likely it was out of surprise, not fear. The bundle of fur raced to Kagome and hid behind her legs.

When the demon's eyes turned angrily on Kagome, Inuyasha leapt in front of her, blocking her from their sight.

"You wanna try fighting someone your own size?"

The human looking demon laughed. For an insane moment, he wondered if Kagome thought that the demon was good looking. After all, he was probably what most would call handsome. Even down to having blue eyes. Insane blue eyes though. "You think you are that someone? Come on little pup, let's see what you got." Then he winked at Kagome. "Then it is your turn, sweetheart."

Obviously the demon didn't really want to live very badly. Threatening to touch Kagome was a really really bad idea.

With a roar, Inuyasha attacked. The first swing missed.

"We are the Thunder Brothers. I am Hi..."

"Don't care," Inuyasha said as he rushed the demon with his blade. He managed to draw blood this time.

"...ten." Hiten frowned. "Rude one, aren't you?"

The demon pulled out his own weapon, a type of pole arm. One that could shoot fireballs apparently, thought Inuyasha as he patted out the small flame on a lock of his hair. He dodged the next fireball and swung again. But the thunder brother was quick. Dang. This guy was fast. And strong. And those fireballs were tough to keep dodging. Inuyasha glanced over at Kagome to make sure she was ok. She was holding the little fox kit in her arms, looking down at him in a way that made Inuyasha's heart ache. The crushing blow to his head reminded him to pay attention to the battle.

Inuyasha flew at him again, his sword flew past him again. But this time he swung with his fist as he went by, and hit Hiten square in the nose. The sound of crunching bones was very satisfying. Furiously, Hiten hit back. Inuyasha let the hit connect, that way it let him stab the demon in the side with the sword. Inuyasha withdrew the blade and lifted it above his head for the killing blow.

"I'd think twice about that," Hiten coughed. Then he grinned in Kagome's direction. "Manten!"

The other brother, presumably 'Manten', had Kagome by the throat. The little kit was chewing on the demon's throat, but he didn't seem to be noticing.

"Kill me, and the girl dies."

There was no time to think. Inuyasha threw his sword. It buried itself into Manten's head to the hilt of the sword.

"Nooooo!"

But before Hiten could strike, he exploded into pink sparkles. Inuyasha was stunned. He looked over to see Kagome standing with her bow in hand, glaring at the sparkles still floating to the ground.

"Wow."

Kagome grinned. "I think I'm getting better with this."

"Uh... yeah."

The red haired fox kit started bouncing up and down.

"I'm Shippo! Thanks for saving me, girl."

"Kagome. My name is Kagome."

"Thanks for saving me, Kagome."

"You're welcome. But you should thank Inuyasha too."

Shippo looked at Inuyasha, gave him the once over, then sniffed. "Half demon."

Before Inuyasha could bop the kid on the head, those green eyes filled with tears. Kagome picked him up, and together they walked over to where his father's pelt lay on the ground. Silently Inuyasha looked for a quiet spot and started digging a hole. Kagome began collecting stones. Together they gathered what they could of Shippo's father and gave him a burial. Kagome and Inuyasha searched for her arrows then retreated to a fallen tree and sat there waiting while Shippo grieved.

Kagome's eyes filled with tears, and Inuyasha held her to his side and laid his head on hers. Her own father's death had not been that long ago, just a few years past. She never talked about it. At school she was always smiling and cheerful. It was easy to forget that her family struggled with the loss. Kagome hid her pain too well. He kissed the top of her head and let her cry. It took him awhile to realize that Shippo had crawled up into her lap.

"Don't worry," Kagome whispered to Shippo. "We'll protect you."

"I'll protect you too," The kit promised.

Inuyasha sighed. Why did he get the feeling his life had just changed? The sounds of humans moving through the grass caused Inuyasha to pull Kagome into his arms, with Shippo in hers. He wasn't going to let them film their pain for people to watch tonight and gossip about tomorrow at over coffee or tea.

He would protect them both.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Author's Note: Sorry all, this has been a very difficult year for me, so writing has been slow. But I promise I'm still continuing all my stories.


	7. The Bounty

Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

Chapter Seven:

Episode Eight: The Bounty

"Once again Kagome Higurashi schemes her way out of another tricky mess. Instead of following the rules of every human for themselves, this devious delinquent has chosen to use find a way to trick demons into doing her dirty work for her. It now appears she has not one, but TWO demon minions working for her! Never in the history of Last One Standing have we had a contestant use the demons instead of simply killing them, or," the announcer said with a cheerful laugh, "Or being killed by them."

She winked at the camera. "We'll be right back after these messages." Taking off her fake cat ears/microphone headset, she sighed heavily. "I hate my job sometimes."

Her cameraman laughed. "Yeah? What part? The fame? The glory? The money? The guilt of being a part of the destruction of an innocent kid whose only crime was being absent too often from school? Pretty much being an accessory to murder?"

"...I was going to say having to be perky all the time. You would not believe the morning I had. They ran out of my favorite cream filled doughnuts! I had to go with glazed! I hate glazed! How can someone pretend to be happy without cream filled doughnuts???"

"Yes," the cameraman said drolly, "I can see how that could ruin your morning...."

A bell chimed and she put her headset (and smile) back on. She grinned at the camera and welcomed the audience back. Dramatically she acted surprised when someone handed her a note.

"What's this? An update? Oh my! It's a note from the highest of the high! From the creator of Last One Standing himself! In order to level the playing field, a bounty is being placed on the dog demon who is helping Kagome Higurashi. Any participant who can bring back his head, and we do mean this literally, gets two days of warmth and guaranteed safety. Hot meals and cold drinks included. To any demon who brings back his head, you will be given a shard of the Shikon Jewel, giving you a substantial power boost."

"Good luck everyone! And Inuyasha.... you might want to start running."

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Inuyasha ran.

Kagome chased.

Shippo laughed.

"You get back here, Inuyasha! Stand still so I can hit you!" The furious girl yelled.

"It's not my fault!"

"You KNEW I was bathing!"

"Shippo said... ow! That hurt! Stop throwing rocks!" Inuyasha ducked. "...said you were done and dressed!"

"Did I LOOK done?"

"... um... no..." He ducked again, turning quickly to head back towards their camp. He didn't want to stray too far from the trouble making little kit. It had been fairly quiet all morning, but that didn't mean it would stay quiet.

"Did I LOOK dressed?"

Inuyasha skidded to a halt behind Shippo. "There's really no answer to that that isn't going to get me killed is there?"

The fox kit shrieked with laughter. A pebble bounced off his forehead and he laughed harder. Inuyasha looked up to see the threat of death in Kagome's eyes had faded. Sure she was still blushing, but she wasn't ready to rip his ears off or anything. Instead, she rolled her eyes, made a derogatory comment about men, then went to retrieve the clothes she had dropped. Inuyasha hadn't wanted to stop so she could bathe and wash her clothes, but she made a good argument that any demon a mile around could probably smell the blood and gore on her clothes. The fact that she looked really really good in his shirt was just a bonus.

A noise distracted the dog demon from where his thoughts were traveling.

"Shippo. Get Kagome. Now."

The fox kit did as he was told. There was a time to mess with Inuyasha, and a time to say 'yes sir'.

A man broke through the clearing. He was sweaty and bloody with scratches and bite marks on his body. Instinct told him to get Kagome and the kid and get out of there. But would Kagome forgive him for abandoning a human to the demons?

"Food?" the man gasped. "Please..."

Inuyasha blocked the man from the campfire they had made. It wasn't that he wasn't willing to share the meat he had prepared that morning, but Kagome's clothes were by the fire drying. And the thought of this man seeing them just was, well, wrong.

"Stay there," Inuyasha commanded. Slowly he backed up to the fire and picked up a hunk of meat that had been roasting. Shippo and Kagome had already had their fill, and he could always catch more prey later. "Here." He tossed the meat to the man, who devoured it hungrily.

"Thank you..." he said between bites. "Than..." The man froze.

Inuyasha followed his gaze where Kagome had just stepped into the clearing. She was wearing his shirt, belted at the waist with what looked like a ribbon. The only other thing she wore were her shoes and socks. He wondered how she got them from their place by the fire, or if Shippo had snuck over and got them for her. The shirt hung to her knees, covering more than her school uniform did, but it seemed too intimate a thing for the stranger to see. Inuyasha took a couple steps to block the man's view.

"Higurashi..." the man said, wiping his mouth. "You must be Kagome Higurashi..."

Kagome looked at Inuyasha. There really was no sense denying it. She was the only teenage girl on the island after all. "Yes."

The man looked back at Inuyasha with a look hungrier than when he first appeared at camp. "Then YOU must be Inuyasha."

Before anyone could blink in surprise at how anyone knew Inuyasha's name, the man lunged forward with his dagger drawn. His intent was to stab Inuyasha through the stomach. However, fast as the human was, he was only human and no match for a demon's speed. Inuyasha simply stepped to the side, sticking his foot out to trip the attacker. When the man fell to the ground, Inuyasha put his foot on the man's throat. Shippo quickly ran forward and took the fallen knife.

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

The man struggled, so Inuyasha put more pressure on his throat. "I can do this all day, human. And I'm kind of enjoying it, so you better talk quick."

"He's turning blue, Inuyasha."

He shrugged off Kagome's words.

"I don't think he can tell us anything if he suffocates to death."

Inuyasha shrugged, not letting off any pressure.

"Inuyaaashaaaa..."

The dog demon sighed dejectedly. Then he leaned down and whispered to the man. "The only reason you live is because I don't want to have to wait for her to clean the blood off another set of clothes."

Then he took a bit of the pressure off. Enough for the man to gasp for breath. Between gasps he told them what he heard from fellow participants. There was even a demon he had escaped from because he was off in search of bigger prey. There was a bounty on Inuyasha, and it was too sweet to resist.

"Kagome, get dressed. Shippo, put out the fire." Inuyasha knocked the man unconscious. He glanced back at his friends with worried eyes. "I'm going to leave false trails. Shippo, yell if you hear or smell anything approaching. Both of you hide until I get back."

He hated leaving them. But he had to lead the ones coming after him away from their trail. Once he reached a river he leapt backwards, trying to land in the same spots as before. Hopefully they would think he was trying to lose them by racing into the water. Once back at camp he saw that the fire was out and smoke was trailing to the sky. His palms began to sweat. He reminded himself that they weren't the only ones building fires, but it still made him nervous. Kagome and Shippo were well hidden. It was fortunate that Kagome had decided to demand a bath, anyone who had caught her scent earlier would not recognize the clean scent as hers. At least not right away. He didn't have much time, so he started running in a different direction, leaving claw marks and traces of blood on trees and rocks. After a fairly short run he jumped into a tree, then jumped from limb to limb across several trees. He was careful to take the same path back.

Back at camp he was too anxious to work on a third false trail. They had to get out of there and find a new safe place. 'Safe' being a very relative term.

"Let's go!" he said, scooping up their belongings and waiting for Kagome and Shippo to scramble out of their spots. His heart beat heavily and he tried not to smile as he noticed Kagome pulling his shirt tightly around her, for comfort.

Inuyasha bent down. "Hop up. Both of you."

"But..."

"It'll help to throw them off our trail. Three sets of prints leaving the campsite instead of one would be like leaving a neon sign for them to follow us."

"Good point."

Kagome climbed up and held on. Shippo leapt onto her shoulder, half hiding under her hair.

"Are we going to be okay?" he whispered.

"Of course," Kagome whispered back, "We have Inuyasha."

He couldn't help but grin at the absolute faith in her voice.

The grin slowly melted away as he began to run again. They had to go somewhere to hide until they could create a plan. Things were different before, when they were just one of many being hunted. But now everyone was hunting them with a vengeance. How was he going to keep them all alive? How... sniff sniff.... Inuyasha crinkled his nose in distaste.

"Inuyasha?"

"I smell 'em, Shippo."

"Smell what?"

At times Inuyasha could almost envy her weak human senses. The last thing he needed was for her to start retching from the stench while riding piggy back. He skidded to a stop, growling. Kagome slid down, holding Shippo close to her.

"Inuyasha? What's going on?"

"Wolves."

Kagome quickly turned and stood with her back to his. He felt her draw her bow and heard Shippo jump to the ground to hide between their bodies. He almost smiled at how easily they worked together. Maybe when all this was over... maybe well.... maybe they could go to a movie or something. He couldn't ignore her anymore. Not after this. Never again.

"We meet again," said a slightly rough voice, accompanied by a near toxic wolf smell.

Inuyasha had to look over his shoulder to see Kouga approaching them. Wolves and wolf demons surrounded them on the ground, wolf demons in the trees. They hunted as a pack.

"Don't do this, Kouga!" pleaded Kagome. "Leave him alone."

Kouga actually laughed. He nodded and five demons and three wolves launched themselves at Inuyasha. Kagome aimed, but was scared of hitting the dog demon. She then pleaded again with the leader of the wolf demons. Kouga came and stood beside her, ignoring Inuyasha's screams to get away from her.

"Do with the dog as you will," Kouga told his clan. Then he smiled at Kagome. "I got what I came for."

And just like that he was gone.

And so was Kagome.

The only thing left of her in the clearing was the shirt of his that she had been wearing.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Author's Note: I want to thank the very kind people who are so supportive and who make writing a joy. You know who you are! *smiles*


	8. Making Choices

Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

Chapter Eight:

Making Choices

"I will protect you, always. I love you."

Kagome struggled to free herself from the demon's grasp. She started kicking futilely, not yet willing to resort to biting. Yet.

"You don't even KNOW me, you nutcase! Now put me down!" She tried to pull at his ponytail, but they were moving too fast and all she ended up doing was smacking herself in the head whenever she managed to lift her arm. Maybe biting wasn't a bad idea after all…

He smiled at her, eyes twinkling. "I know everything about you I need to know."

His eyes, without a doubt, were the most beautiful crystal blue that she had ever seen. Too bad they belonged to a crazy person... er... demon. It was probably best to try and stay on his good side. Making him mad seemed like a really bad idea. She wasn't delusional. She knew she wasn't strong enough to hold her own against him, much less him and his pack of wolves and wolf demons. Surely she could dredge up a smile and practice a little diplomacy since her life was on the line.

"Look," she said in a hopefully patient voice, "I appreciate you... er... helping me... but I need to get back to Inuyasha."

He laughed. "That pup? He couldn't keep you safe from the cold."

Ooooooh! He had better NOT be commenting on her school uniform or she would personally find a way to cause him an excruciatingly painful death. With a little more difficulty this time, she smiled.

"I appreciate your concern, Mr. Demon, but I need to get back to my friend."

The wolf demon looked startled for a moment. "Friend? Friends with a half-breed?" Then he grinned in a way that showed far too many teeth. Sharp pointy teeth. "You may call me Kouga, no need for formalities between us." His words were almost purred, which didn't help Kagome's ever growing panic. "Though," he said smoothly, "You are welcome to choose to call me by any endearment you'd like, my sweet."

For a moment she worried that by 'sweet' he meant tasty yummy mmm mmm good kind of sweet. When she realized what he really meant, she worried even more. Yep, obviously he was deranged.

"Please," she begged, hoping he had some compassion, "Please take me back to my friends."

Her stomach heaved and she nearly lost her last meal as her vision went all whirly. When she realized that Kouga had stopped and was setting her on her feet she nearly squealed with joy. She didn't care if she had to dodge demons on her own as she made her way back to Inuyasha and Shippo. She was just glad to be free!

"Thank you, Kouga!" she said happily, clasping her hands in front of her so she wouldn't hug him. That would soooo give him the wrong idea.

Kouga looked at her with sad blue eyes. She almost felt bad for the crazed kidnapper. Almost.

"I'm very sorry, my love," he said.

"Sorry? For wh..."

There was a moment of intense pain, then nothing.

The world went black and silent.

Slowly she became aware of someone stroking her hand gently. Then she heard murmuring. It was hard to tell what the words were through the blinding pain in her head. The pain made her feel like throwing up. A tiny part of her brain said it was getting sick of feeling sick.

"...rry... so sorry, sister. You'll be okay. I'm so sorry..."

Kagome groaned. Then winced as the male voice shouted that she was awake. She opened her eyes just enough to see a wolf demon with a mohawk jump to his feet. Her eyes followed those feet to... a cave entrance? Weird. Was she still asleep? The smell that assaulted her nose told her that no, this wasn't a dream. Slowly she sat up, keeping her eyes shut tight until the nausea passed and the pounding in her head faded slightly.

Finally she opened her eyes. The smell was quickly explained. The cave was small, hot, and filled with wolves and wolf demons. That many creatures living in a small space were bound to smell. Not to mention that none of them have probably even heard of the word 'soap'. She prayed the wolves were house trained. Cave trained, whatever.

"Ah, you're awake!" said a voice far too loudly. Kagome looked up to see Kouga coming towards her with a proud grin. "Ginta. Hakkaku. I have an errand for you." Two wolves, one of them was the one who had been patting her hand comfortingly, went to Kouga. A short conversation later they were yelling their goodbyes.

Great. Two demons down… five bazillion to go…

She touched the football sized bump (oh ok, more like golf ball... but it FELT football sized) on her head. All her schooling hadn't been for nothing. She quickly put together what happened.

"You hit me," she accused with a pointing finger.

He shrugged unrepentantly. "It had to be done. The den is secret and we have to keep its locatio..."

"YOU HIT ME!" she yelled, somehow instantly on her feet with clenched fists.

The cave went silent. Kouga's grin slipped into a wary expression.

"The uh... location... safety, we need uh..."

"You... hit.... me..." Her voice was low, deadly. She felt a fire burning in her. It felt like she was about to go up in flames. He had HIT her! Actually HIT her!

"... sorry..." he said uncertainly.

The air crackled around her as her rage grew. A sharp pain in her skull had her hand reaching up to her temple. Her anger was replaced by a whimper and a desire for some acetaminophen... or even some aspirin. Kouga would pay... when her headache went away.

There seemed to be a collective sigh of relief, and the silence was filled with the sounds of people whispering and moving about quietly.

Kouga cleared his throat, looking slightly less sure of himself than he did a few moments ago.

"Kagome, I brought her you here to keep you safe." He looked at the top of her head and away from her glare. "Demons and the prey... er, the humans... anyhow, they are all after Inuyasha. There is a bounty on him. Staying with him is like a death sentence. My wolf clan can keep you safe here in the den. You can't be tracked here. We can keep you safe until this is all over. You'll be alive. If you leave, you will die."

So, she had to decide between going back to Inuyasha and certain death, or stay here with the demons and live. There really wasn't much of a choice there.

Kagome sighed and lay back down and closed her eyes. She ignored Kouga's look of triumph and tried to relax her muscles and try to nap. Staying put made the most sense. Leaving alone would be crazy. She would stay here...

...until Inuyasha found her.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

"You are SUCH an IDIOT!"

"One more word, brat, and I toss you across the tree line."

"You lost Kagome's scent! How could you?"

Inuyasha clenched his fist and grabbed the kit by his tail. He held him upside down at eye level. "I did not LOSE her scent." But the wolves were obviously covering her scent, making tracking Kagome much more difficult than he would have liked. Having Shippo constantly whining and worrying wasn't helping.

Though he really wanted to see just how fast he could throw the bratty little demon, he knew Kagome would never forgive him. So he dropped him instead.

"Make yourself useful, brat."

"I waaaaant Kaaagoooomeeeeeee!" the kit wailed as he rubbed his head where he had fallen.

Inuyasha threw a clod of dirt at him. "That's NOT useful."

Ignoring the sniveling, Inuyasha got down on all fours and started sniffing. There were a lot of scents. And the stench of wolf went in every direction. Obviously Kouga knew that he would be hunted. Since there was no trace of Kagome's footsteps and hardly any scent at all (besides the scent left on the shirt of his she had worn), he knew that she was being carried. Though thought made him snarl. How DARE they touch Kagome! When he found the wolves he would tear every last one of them into tiny pieces! And if they put one filthy paw on her.... His claws dug into the earth, and he felt something inside of him shift and burn.

"Err...In... In... Inuyasha...?" Shippo stammered, "Y... you're eyes... are red... Do they do that often...?"

Inuyasha growled in response. It was hard to think. Impossible to form words. He had to get to Kagome. He needed to find her. Protect her.

"Kagoooomeeee!!!!!" he roared, voice cracking slightly.

A rustling in the bushes caused him to spin around, claws out and ready to strike. He went low to the ground and growled in warning as two nervous looking wolf demons peeked around the branches at him.

"Don't kill us," one of them begged, "We come with news of Sister."

"Of Kagome," the other one corrected as Inuyasha's growl became louder and more threatening.

After a moment, Inuyasha stood. He clenched his fists and tried to get himself under control. If he killed the wolves it would take longer to find Kagome. He could always kill them after they said their piece.

"Tell us where she is!" demanded Shippo, who stood behind Inuyasha's legs and shook a tiny fist at the demons.

"We... we... Kouga told us to tell you...." he paused nervously as Inuyasha's growl got louder. He gulped and sweated. After glancing at his companion he started talking again. "Kouga wanted you to know that sis... um... Kagome is fine. She is safe. Safer than with you... gack!"

Inuyasha had the demon with the striped hair pinned to a tree by his throat. "You. Will. Tell me. Now." He snarled viciously. "Where. Is. Kagome?"

The other demon, the one with a white mohawk, started pulling at Inuyasha's arm, but didn't have any luck moving it.

"Listen," the demon said. "Wait. Don't kill him! Sister is safer with us!" He stepped back when Inuyasha's golden eyes blazed in his direction. "P...p...please... don't kill me!"

Inuyasha's grip tightened and the trapped demon let out a squeak and started turning an interesting shade of blue. The other tried to reason with the enraged dog demon once more.

"Kouga says you are being hunted. You. You have a price on your head. Kagome will only get hurt if she's with you. We can hide her. No one will find her. You put her life at risk if you keep her with you." He stepped back quickly then crouched and put his arms over his head as Inuyasha let the first demon drop.

His claws bit into his hands as he tried to keep himself from tearing apart the wolves. They were right. A bounty was on his head. Would Kagome have a better chance of survival if he let her stay there until it was over? Could he trust them to keep her safe until the show was over and he could take her back? He had a choice to make. And he hated it.

"Take the kit," he said as he looked away from the wolves. "Kagome loves him, worries about him. Feh." He crossed his arms and continued to look out into the distance. "He's just a runt and will get killed. Then Kagome will be sad and cry."

The two wolves talked quietly. But not so quietly that Inuyasha couldn't hear them. They were trying to decide what their prince, Kouga, would think about them bringing back the little fox demon. Then talked about how they didn't want Kagome to be sad and really didn't want her to cry. They talked about how happy it would make their new sister if they brought her the fox kit. And how much trouble could such a little thing be anyhow? He was hardly big enough to be an appetizer!"

Shippo clutched his leg. "Please don't let them eat me."

"Don't be such a baby. They won't eat you."

"I hate you."

"Feh."

The two wolves stood up warily and told Inuyasha that they would take the kit to Kagome. It took a bit of pulling and prying to get Shippo off of his leg, but finally the wolves had him.

"Let the brat walk," Inuyasha called after them. "He's been sick all day. Kagome will freak out if you bring him to her covered in vomit."

The wolf holding Shippo dropped him to the ground. Shippo turned around and gave Inuyasha a questioning look. Then obediently he followed the wolves.

Inuyasha watched them leave. When they were out of eyesight he smirked.

Idiots.

They may have been able to cover Kagome's scent... but they weren't even trying to cover Shippo's. They might have well have given him an engraved invitation to visit their home. He cracked his knuckles in anticipation.

"On my way, Kagome."

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

"As soon as we step on this soil we will become targets ourselves."

"I know."

"They will come after us to kill us."

"I know."

"Seriously."

"Yes, I know."

"This is your last chance to decide to go back home."

Miroku smiled serenely at Sango as she turned to face him. They were sitting on the back of the enormous firecat, Kirara, hovering only a few feet off the ground of the beach. Once they land on the island they will have to fight every step of the way. Demons watched hungrily from the trees just beyond the beach. This was an island of death.

"Sango, my love, we simply have no choice."

Together they dropped to the ground and drew their weapons.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Author's Note: See? I haven't forgotten about this story. And Miroku and Sango haven't forgotten about our heroes.


	9. Reunions in Blood

Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

Chapter Nine:

Reunions in Blood

She was simply amazing.

She was a dancer.

An artist.

Watching her move was entrancing. He could watch her for hours and never be bored. She flew through the air, turning gracefully before landing only to spin and leap through the air once more. Her muscles strained as she danced. Then she paused, turning to him on a carpet of red. Her long black hair moved like silk across her shoulders. Her eyes were like the finest chocolate, drawing him to her. Her lips parted, cheeks flushed pink.

"Any time you want to jump in and help, Miroku," Sango said bitterly before picking up her weapon once more to face the next demon bearing down on her.

Hoping he wasn't wearing a goofy grin, Miroku picked up his staff and spun it around. That was pretty much for show. Sure he trained with Inuyasha on occasion to practice a little combat with a fighting staff, but his real power lay in a curse. Funny how a curse was what made him powerful. It wasn't years of hard work and training like Sango. It didn't even require much skill. Just keep the beads that seal the curse around his hand and wrist while keeping the hand covered. The curse was a gift of sorts, from his father. Of course, his father had been swallowed by the wind tunnel, but Miroku had no intention of letting it swallow him. Still... it seemed prudent to use it only in emergencies...

"Wind Tunnel!!!" he shouted as he let the beads loose and the palm of his hand was exposed.

He wouldn't admit this to anyone, but shouting out 'wind tunnel' before unleashing it made him feel like a kid pretending to be a superhero. He suspected Sango shouted out the name of her weapon as she threw it to tease him. He could swear he would see her smirk a bit as she would shout it while being televised. It never failed to make him smile and have to keep himself from breaking out in unmanly giggles. When they were little they used to play demon hunters. Who knew that she would end up leaving to train as a demon hunter for real? She had left him a smiling silly kid, and came back a seriously stunning slayer.

But somewhere during the training she had lost her... softness. Her joy. Her smile. Seeing her again had been like meeting a stranger. He tries not to think about what might have happened if Kagome hadn't come along and stumbled into their lives.

He would fight the whole island of demons to get Kagome back. He owed her for bringing Sango's smile back.

And he couldn't bear to think what her death would do to the woman he loves.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

She was simply amazing.

She was a goddess.

An angel.

Watching her move was entrancing. He could watch her forever and never be bored. Her movements were graceful. She seemed to glide when she walked. Her voice and touch were gentle. So gentle he thought that he'd break just by being near her. And she smelled so good! Mmmm. Her smile would bring the strongest to their knees. He had never known eyes to sparkle the ways her would. She was enchanting. Loving. Motherly. Look at how she cradles the child.

"If you so much as touch one hair on Shippo's head so help me I'll find a way to incinerate you all!" Ah, her eyes were full of fire, full of life.

It was sweet how she demonstrated what a good mother she would be to the den through the little fox demon child his subjects brought her only moments ago. Very cute, but really there was no need to show off to make a good impression. He knew right away that she was the one. Her adorable attempts to prove her strength by making threats were touching really. And how she keeps looking around at everyone and everything shows that she is interested in her new pack and her new home. Look at the way she punches the wolf who suggested they snack on the kitsune. A very spirited mate indeed. Right in the nose, too. Good aim. Actually caused a fair amount of bleeding. Nice!

"Next one who even BREATHES in Shippo's direction sings soprano for the rest of their lives!"

How did he ever survive without such a spirited mate to make the dreary den into such a happy home? It must have been fate to bring such a treasure into their lives. Look how quickly she has the wolves deferring to her as the princess she is. And to think he had a silly moment's notion that it might be a little difficult for a human to fit in with demons. She was perfect! Once she has little ones of her own it will be easy enough to get rid of the fox kit. He would make a nice looking pair of leggings. Maybe something to keep her head warm on chilly nights. She was only human after all. He would have to see how their first child came out though. It would be a half breed... normally that would mean drowning or eating it, but the other half might have Kagome's interesting powers. It could make for an even more powerful demon. If not, well... accidents happen... She could always raise little ones birthed by another.

He would fight the whole island of humans and demons to keep his Kagome. She was his.

He couldn't bear to think about how lonely and dull life would be without the woman he loves.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

She was simply amazing.

She was a simpleton.

An idiot.

What was she doing sitting there coddling the kid when she had a whole den of wolves ready to scarf her down for dinner? It was the craziest thing he had ever seen! And he had seen a lot! She wasn't seriously considering staying here with this... this... this FLEABAG was she? Nah, she was smarter than that. Wasn't she?

Well, she didn't really have that great of a track record for making the best decisions in life, had she? After all, she had insisted on making friends with HIM when it was the worst possible mistake she could have ever done. Why had he allowed her to do that anyhow? He knew better than to trust humans. This whole integration of demons and humans was nice in theory, but it sure wasn't working so well in the real world. Making friends with a half demon was even worse. He was an outsider to both worlds, an abomination. But no, he had been suckered in by her smile and now here she was in mortal danger all because she was too stupid to hate him like she was supposed to. He was nothing but bad luck. If she had just left him alone, then surely she would still be safe at home.

"Next one who even BREATHES in Shippo's direction sings soprano for the rest of their lives!"

That was his Kagome.

Didn't matter if she was surrounded by dozens who could eat her for dinner in a heartbeat, she wasn't backing down. They sure did though. In fact, they looked a little afraid of her. Keh. Would...Would she be safer here after all? At least until the game was over and the other humans were all dead or someone declared a winner? He could wait them out. She had a battalion there to protect her, and he was only one. He couldn't be selfish. He had to think about Kagome's safety first. He clenched his fists so tight his claws dug into his own skin, drawing blood. It killed him to even think it, but...

"Let GO of me, Kouga!"

Everything went a bit fuzzy.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

He was simply amazing.

He was unreal and amazing.

A savior.

Inuyasha had found her! And so fast too! She had agonized over the thought of having to actually spend the night in this cave with all these weirdoes. Kagome tried to wrestle her fingers out of Kouga's grasp before the snarling silver haired hanyou got blood all over her clothes again. Luckily Shippo helped out by chomping on the wolf demon's hand. Grabbing Shippo she jumped out of the way and hid behind the two demons who had brought her Shippo not too long ago. Inuyasha seemed... different. His eyes were red, not a speck of gold at all. Weird. And were his claws longer? Were those stripes on his cheeks? Ah, right. Demon blood taking over. Yeah, this wouldn't end well for the wolves.

"Um..." Kagome tapped on Ginta's (or was it Hakkaku's?) shoulder. "You guys might want to consider maybe backing waaaaay up. Or, you know, running for your lives."

"Why, sister?"

"Inuyasha is about to make mincemeat out of everything breathing. To thank you for bringing me Shippo, I'm trying to save your life here."

"What's mincemeat?"

Kagome shook her head and sighed. "Teeny tiny little bits of meat... look, that's not really important." She winced as blood flew in an arc and created a nice gory line on the wall between her and the two wolves. "Do you really want to stick around and find out?"

Both wolves shook their heads vigorously and followed Kagome along the wall to the cave's entrance. They watched in horror as two other wolves attempted to help their pack leader and ended up in several pieces. Ew. Ginta and Hakkaku had no problem following Kagome's suggestion that they stay behind her. They did, however, shout out encouragement for their leader like really ugly cheerleaders.

Kagome gave Inuyasha a little wave and smile from the sidelines as he glanced in her direction. Like a really pathetic cheerleader. But at least it got the dog demon out of his blood rage and the beautiful gold returned to his eyes and his fangs went back to normal. Well, normal for Inuyasha.

"I'm not letting her go," snarled Kouga from the ground. "I will kill you first."

"Feh. You ain't in no position to be making no threats, you mangy wolf."

He really wasn't either. Kagome almost felt sorry for the battered wolf. Almost. After all, he WAS planning on keeping her captive for the rest of her life. Not to mention planned on making her play den mother (she snickered at her own pun) for a bunch of demons. Still... considering nearly everything on this island wanted her and Inuyasha dead, it didn't make too much sense getting rid of the one who might actually want her alive.

"Inuyasha..."

"Kinda busy here, Kagome."

"C'mon, let's go."

Confused, he stopped in mid slice (in mid air too, which was quite a feat) and got a kick in the ribs by an angry wolf demon. She cringed. That had to hurt.

"Nice timing," he snarled after he hit the ground, "Whose side are you on?"

"Pleeeeease...."

Inuyasha rolled to his feet and rammed his fist straight into the wolf's nose, dropping him like a stone. Then he scratched some dirt in Kouga's direction and sauntered over to Kagome.

"Whatever."

Kagome breathed a sigh of relief. It was over. She was back safe at Inuyasha's side. Things were going to be okay.

"Come back... koff koff... coward!" yelled the bleeding demon.

"Bye Kouga!" Kagome smiled cheerily and waved as she grabbed Inuyasha's sleeve and started walking towards the woods. She ignored the faces Shippo was making at their ex-captives.

Kouga stopped yelling and waved back, looking a little befuddled.

An out of breath camera crew appeared at the sidelines just as Inuyasha scooped her up and jumped nearly straight into the air. Kagome giggled at the site of Kouga attempting to look triumphant before closing her eyes and holding on tighter to Inuyasha.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

"Looks like we missed the fun," Miroku said as he shifted his weight.

Sango's nose wrinkled at the sight of all the bleeding wolf demons strewn about. "Looks like."

"On the bright side," he smiled warmly, "We are on the right track."

Kilala jumped into the air with her two hopeful passengers with a roar. She hoped Kagome had some treats for her. Kagome ALWAYS had treats! And this time she didn't have to fight that bully Buyo for them!

Maybe now Sango would let her eat the noisy humans with the cameras!

Life was good.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Author's Note: To everyone who reviewed so kindly, thank you very much for your encouragement. It means a lot to me.


	10. Reunions in Gore

Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

Chapter Ten:

Episode Thirteen: Reunions in Gore

"Now THAT is what I call playing with your food! Welcome back viewers! You're just in time to see one of the best shots of the season! Good job, Nikko. And how about a hand for those voracious badger demons. Get it? Hand?" The blonde laughed as the Nikko focused the camera on the appendage that had landed at his feet.

Swirling her chair so she faced her own camera, the announcer smiled merrily and touching her faux tiger ears. "And now we are down to six competitors, which includes our last minute uninvited entry. Do we have shots of how each of the competitors are holding up? Ooooh! Yes, we do. Here's the man convicted of five murders, all family members if I recall correctly. I suppose it is only fitting," she winked at the camera, "That is a family of demons hot on his tail. Can we get a shot of the hacker? There he is. Hiding out in a hollowed tree surrounded by... do I really want to know what that foul looking pile is? Guess smelling like THAT is one way to cover your scent. But how long does he think he can hide. Oh look, the partners in cyber crime found each other at last. Wow, they sure can run! Ha! That reminds me of the joke where you don't have to be fast, you just have to be faster than your friend. And finally we have..."

She squinted at the screen and her smile dissolved. "That's not the schoolgirl..." She gasped. "That's SANGO! That donut stealing witch is back? I HOPE THAT DRAGON CHASING YOU EATS YOUR SOUL!"

The cameraman cleared his throat to cover a chuckle.

"WHAT are you laughing at, you plaid wearing freak?" She screamed and pointed to the screen behind her. "Every morning she would come in and get the chocolate donut with chocolate icing and chocolate sprinkles! EVERY MORNING!" Her fists hit the desk hard enough to knock over her cup of pencils that she never actually used. "You KNEW it was MY favorite, Sango! EAT HER! CHEW HER UP AND SPIT OUT HER BONES!"

"Ahem..." The cameraman waved to get her attention after swallowing a laugh. "I think she can hear you. And uh... I think she has a message for you."

Sure enough, Sango turned straight into the camera's sights and smiled, then gave a very rude and unladylike gesture.

There was a loud screech as the announcer screamed into her headphones, then there was a slight break in reception as objects flew through the air.

The cameraman wondered if it would make things worse if he told the pretty entertainer that Sango would feed that triple chocolate treat to her firecat companion. Oh, but that might just drive the poor gal over the edge... Heh heh heh.

"It's not like she ATE the donut herself," he began telling her as he ducked a chair. This was just going to make his night.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

"A very handy device," remarked Miroku as he peeked over Sango's shoulder at the portable television she was holding.

"Yes. Thank you for... acquiring it from the last camera crew we ran across."

"My pleasure."

Sango pretended to not feel him press up against her as he looked at the screen. The dragon demon was nearly forgotten as the agile firecat dodged and flew. It was a little difficult to focus on the screen with all the movements. Frankly he was a bit impressed that Sango was able to hold on to the television and not lose her seat. How she was able to stay on Kilala's back by just holding on with her legs was beyond him. Though it was strangely exciting. Just when he thought that this ride couldn't be any more torturous for him, they saw Kagome and Inuyasha on the tiny television and somehow she ended up pressing backwards to give him a better view. He wondered if he was being tested.

"They are safe," she sighed.

"Y...yes." He cleared his throat and began to fidget a little and his hand began to flex. Yep. Definitely a test. "So it would, um, seem."

"This area is familiar. It won't take too long for us to get there."

She hadn't moved, and his fingers began to twitch. He was nearly certain she was talking about something important, but really couldn't be certain. His brain was on autopilot. To make matters worse, there was a magnetic pull, and he really couldn't help what happened next. After all, his hand WAS cursed. And he never really did well with tests anyhow.

"HENTAI!"

As he slowly slipped from consciousness, Miroku could swear he heard Kilala laugh.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

"!"

"Kagome..."

"!"

"Look, Kago..."

"."

Shippo looked worried. He shifted his weight uncomfortably as he stood on a boulder watching them. "I don't think that's a real good idea, Inuyasha."

"What? Why? The screaming would attract who knows how many more demons? She can't just go sc..."

The fox kit looked decidedly uncomfortable. "Um... yeah, right. But you just put your hand over her mouth..."

"So?"

He made a disgusted face. "Inuyasha... you just put your fist through a worm demon. And Kagome was already covered with blood and guts, and after you turned the first one inside out for swallowing her, well, I don't think that it is the demon guts that are making her look so... green..."

Inuyasha barely jumped back in time as Kagome dropped to her knees and began retching. It took him a moment to scramble back and hold her hair back and pat her back. Shippo tsk tsk'd him. Finally (FINALLY) Kagome stopped throwing up and wiped at her mouth. She sat there on the ground shaking. Her hair hid her face, so Inuyasha wasn't certain if she was scared, weak, laughing (not real likely), crying, or angry. There were too many other smells around for him to use his nose to help him sense her mood. The smells were making him a little queasy too. Well, not just a little. A lot, actually. His sensitive nose was burning.

"Um..." Now he was the one shifting nervously from foot to foot. "You want a bath? You kinda smell..."

She turned to him with blazing eyes.

"INUYAAASHAAAAA!"

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Couldn't she go one lousy little day without getting slimed? And this one was the worst! Her stomach turned as she recalled the smell after Inuyasha killed the worm demon most thoroughly. She tried very hard to not remember what the insides of the worm had looked like as she dropped through its gullet. Or whatever it was worm's had.

Inuyasha.

She couldn't stay mad at him, even though he did tell her she stank. Especially considering he found her a cool stream to bath in and was chasing off the cameramen so she didn't have to bathe in front of who knew how many viewers, leaving Shippo to guard her little area to make sure there were no peepers around, or attacking demons.

Using a handful of sand, she scrubbed at her skin. The abrasiveness helped take off the dried blood and gore, not to mention a little skin. But she was fine with losing a little hide if it meant it got all the goo off. Ick. Deciding a little more dirt wouldn't hurt things, she scooped up another small handful of sand and began scrubbing her scalp along with a few of the precious soapwort flowers that Inuyasha had miraculously sniffed out a couple of days ago. Of course, she knew this wasn't the preferred way to use the little flower, but she really didn't have access to any of the other ingredients. It would just have to do.

Man, she missed her strawberry scented shampoo and conditioner. How long had it been since she had taken a decent bath?

With a sigh, Kagome realized that her hair and skin was as clean as it was likely to get without a scouring pad and maybe some boiling water. So she lowered herself into the cool water and ducked her head underneath. What were the chances that Inuyasha would find a spot in the stream deep enough to use to submerge in? She smiled to herself. Would he ever stop surprising her? Reluctantly she broke through the water and gulped some air. She wrung the water from her hair, then froze as she heard a strange sound.

Shippo was growling!

"What's wrong?" Kagome asked as she searched for where she put Inuyasha's outer robe (it was no fair how the thing never got dirty, just wipe it down and it is good as new!) and her bow and three arrows. Three. She would have run out long ago if Inuyasha and Shippo didn't go rooting through (ug) things to go retrieve her arrows after a fight. A few had broken, and a couple she decided she didn't really want anymore after seeing where they had been.

"Keep back, Kagome," warned the kit with his hair nearly standing straight on this head and tail. "I'll protect you!"

Her fingers just touched the robe when they rushed out of the brush.

Shippo launched at the intruders, only to be knocked to the ground and have his tail stepped on.

"LET ME GO!"

"Meoooow."

"Kagome!"

Kagome blinked numbly for a moment. Then squealed as reality hit her. "Sango! Miroku! Kilala!" Then she remembered that she hadn't quite dressed yet and clutched the robe to her front. "Eep!"

A wide eyed Miroku was promptly sat upon by a giant firecat while a snarling kitzune glued himself to the front of his face. Kagome quickly slipped on the robe and ran to hug Sango. Tears streamed down her face, and her throat closed too much to speak.

Sango and Miroku were here! They were going home! They were rescued! This whole nightmare was at an end. Tomorrow morning she'd probably be waking up in her own bed and going back to school. Well, maybe not school. Weren't they the reason she was here anyhow? Maybe she could talk her mom into homeschooling her. And NO MORE television! She glared at the camera crew panting for breath. Apparently they had followed Sango and Miroku. Great, Inuyasha runs off one group just in time for another to show up.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as she wiped her face.

Kagome turned slightly as Inuyasha hopped back into their little clearing. She gave him an ecstatic smile, tickled that it looked like he was trying not to smile in relief as he came over to stand right behind her. Everyone ignored him as he said, "Took you long enough."

"I'm so glad you're alive!" cried Sango as she hugged her friend tighter. "I was so scared when I found out where you were!"

"May I get up now?" asked Miroku in a polite, if slightly muffled, voice. "A friend of yours?" he asked as he attempted to peel the angry kit off his face.

Kagome held her arms open for Shippo, and the fox demon let go of Miroku's face and jumped into them. Then he turned around to snarl at Miroku some more. Kagome tried very hard not to coo at how cute his little teeth looked when he bared them.

"Shippo, these are our friends. Sango, Miroku, and Kilala. Sango and Miroku used to go to school with us before they graduated. Guys, this is Shippo, I'm thinking of adopting him."

There was a moment of stunned silence. Even the camera crew looked at each other in astonishment. The only one who didn't look startled was Inuyasha.

"Why don't you start from the beginning," Sango suggested.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

"She's violating the rules by being here."

"I know."

"And she brought along a monk."

"I know."

"This is a flagrant disregard for rules!"

"I. Know."

"She's helping that Kagome girl cheat."

"..."

"Sir?"

"You have ten minutes to leave my office before I have you stuffed with those donuts you love so much, and roast you over a spit and serve you to the wolves."

Idiots. He was surrounded by idiots.

Still. He couldn't let the girl get away with cheating. That would set a very bad precedent. It wouldn't be fair, now would it? A smile spread across his face as he leaned back in his chair. He would just have to arrange for something extra special for his little group of miscreants.

Something to die for.

Author's Note: Thank you very much for your reviews. I very much appreciate the time you take to let me know what you think.

Anyone know if it is against any sort of rules to have a Choose Your Own Adventure type of story on here? And just what are the exact rules on song fics? I tried looking but didn't see it. I just don't want to break any rules and get suspended… again.


	11. No Escape

Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

Chapter Eleven:

No Escape

"...so... you didn't bring a boat with you?"

"No, Inuyasha. We wouldn't have been able to get close on a boat. Or a plane. Or a submarine. Give it a rest." Sango rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"...and didn't bring extra clothes?"

"No, Kagome. We did not bring extra clothes. Or soap. Or cheeseburgers. We were a bit of a hurry to rescue you." Miroku sighed and rolled his eyes to the heavens.

"Yet, we haven't really been rescued..."

"In. U. Ya. Sha. If you say that ONE more time I will NOT be held responsible for what happens to you," Sango growled through a clenched jaw.

"What's a cheeseburger?"

"Way to go, Shippo," snapped Inuyasha, "You made Kagome cry."

Turns out, the rescue by Sango, Miroku, and Kilala wasn't quite the rescue that Kagome had imagined when she first saw them coming out of the trees and brush. Though her friends had successfully made it to the island, there really was no way to get them all back OFF the island. The trip would have been too taxing for the firecat to carry five across the ocean back to safety. Though even if she could it would still be impossible. That afternoon they had discovered that the barrier would let things come in, but wouldn't let them leave. It made sense, otherwise the demons of the island might decide to take a little swim to more fertile hunting grounds.

Kagome wiped her eyes and tried to stop crying. It was silly really. She was in no bigger mess than she was before her friends showed up. In fact, their chances of survival had increased dramatically. Sango was a very skilled trained demon slayer. Kilala was a fierce fire cat demon who was very protective of her friends. And Miroku... Well, she was pretty sure he could probably fight, though she had never seen it herself (only heard that he used to spar with Inuyasha on occasion). Certainly was good on defense considering how many times he'd have to protect himself from the beatings he got every time he and Sango got together. It just felt that hopes that she didn't even know she had were suddenly just dashed when she realized that there was no easy escape. And she was really hungry for meat that she hadn't seen already alive. She would possibly literally give her right arm for a cheeseburger.

But cheeseburgers, bubble baths, and chocolate would just have to wait a little longer. Kagome pushed away the words 'if ever', but they still circled her head.

She wiped at her eyes some more until all traces of tears were gone. "Dust," she said as a way of explanation. Then she inhaled sharply and cleared her throat. "So... let's start thinking of ways to escape this place."

"I say we fight our way out. Just destroy everything and win this stupid competition and get out of here."

"Inuyasha!" gasped Kagome, horrified.

"It... sounds like a decent plan, actually."

"Sango!"

"Mew."

"You guys are impossible! I just want to get out of here. I don't want to have to kill anything or anyone else. And to actually win we'd have to kill the other contestants!"

"We could always let the demons eat them first."

Kagome grit her teeth. "You aren't helping, Miroku. Aren't you supposed to protect humanity? You are a monk after all."

Miroku smiled, "Who am I to meddle in the matters of fate? If they were meant to be eaten then it would be impertinent of me to interfere with fate's plans."

A dark cloud enveloped Kagome, making everyone take a couple of steps back. What a bloodthirsty group! Then again... this whole thing has been set up as a kill or be killed situation. It was unlikely that the other human participants would think twice before knocking her out of the game by lopping off her head or something. But... she didn't want to kill anyone. She just wanted to go home. She wanted her life back. She wanted this nightmare to be over.

"Maybe I could float us over the barrier," suggested Shippo as he looked up at her with big green eyes and took her hand, holding a flower to her with the other. She practically melted at the sweet gesture. "I've been practicing."

Tears slipped out of Kagome's eyes as she knelt down to hug the fox kit. She buried her face in his red hair to hide the tears. She didn't want to cry anymore. So she put on a smile before standing back up, taking Shippo with her. She took the flower he offered her and smelled it. The scent was light and sweet.

"What a pretty flower, Shippo."

Miroku smiled at the flower. "Even among the very bowels of the earth one can find beauty if one looks."

Kagome wrinkled her nose at his choice of wording, but smiled at the sentiment. Then she looked over at Inuyasha, who looked slightly grumpy, and smiled at him too. If it wasn't for this horrible game, she might never have heard from Inuyasha again. He had certainly disappeared from her life thoroughly enough after he left her. Quickly she turned her head so he wouldn't see her grin like an idiot. This whole miserable mess was kind of worth it. Though a less extreme reunion would have been a little nicer. And less smelly. This wasn't exactly how she pictured them getting back together and renewing their friendship. That dream involved running into his open arms, or tackling him if necessary.

Kagome bit her lip. Maybe that was it. Maybe he knew that she had developed a crush on him and decided to make himself scarce. Fine fine fine. It was a bit more than just a crush. So she fell in love, so what? It wasn't like she had planned on throwing herself at him or anything. She knew that he was still harboring feelings for her cousin, Kikyo. After they split up, he was so broken hearted he never even LOOKED at another girl! So, if friendship was all she could have with him, then she would be content with that. He didn't have to run for the hills or anything.

"What do you suppose Inuyasha did this time to make her mad," whispered Sango.

Kagome blushed.

"I DIDN'T DO NOTHING!"

She turned her head and tried to think pleasant thoughts. Apparently she wasn't good at keeping her emotions off her face. She bent her head to sniff Shippo's flower to make it not look so obvious that she purposefully not looking at them.

"I didn't do nothing!" Inuyasha repeated, this time a little less certain.

As they fought among each other, Kagome had an uneasy feeling as she noticed that they were all very comfortable with each other. Like countless months hadn't passed since they last spoke. Her suspicions were confirmed when Miroku made a comment about how if Inuyasha killed him then he would never get his game machine back. Inuyasha threatened certain death if there was one scratch on it, since he only bought it a couple weeks ago. Her feet stopped moving as she watched her friends continue to walk.

Her chest hurt.

Inuyasha... He hadn't disappeared from their lives... only hers.

"Kagome...?" Shippo's voice was faint. Kagome could barely hear past the sudden furious rushing of blood in her ears.

Why?

WHY?

Why did they hide this from her? How DARE Sango and Miroku keep that kind of a secret from her! Were they all laughing at how stupid she was for not figuring it out? Poor DUMB Kagome. Too idiotic to get that she was the punch line in some stupid joke.

"Um... Kagome...? The flower...it's moving…"

Her eyes squeezed shut and her hands fisted. How could they do this to her? How could they lie to her for all this time? They knew how hurt she was when he left. They knew how often she went to bed crying, wondering where he was and if he was ok and what she had done to drive him away. All this time they knew where he was… how he was! THEY KNEW!

"Your arm... Kagome... The flower is crawling up your arm!"

How DARE they? HOW DARE THEY? ? They weren't friends at all! The lied to her! All this time they were lying to her!

"I can't get it off! Kagome! Help! Inuyasha! HELP!"

They wouldn't get away with this! No. She wouldn't let them. They weren't going to laugh at HER anymore.

EVER.

AGAIN!

"Wake up, Kagome!" the kit's frantic voice was fading, but she didn't care. "Please wake up! Cut it off her, Inuyasha! It's going to strangle her! Sango, grab the petals! It's trying to eat her! Do something! Help her!"

Rage filled her. Everything else faded away.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

"A flower?"

"Yes sir. Just as you asked. The flower demon has eaten the girl."

He rubbed his temples. The proud tone of his minion was getting on his nerves. "How many in that little group of theirs?" he asked.

"Um... let's see... the kitzune, the firecat, three humans, and a hanyou... soooo... um...one, two, three..." the minion counted on his fingers, then grinned broadly holding up six fingers. "Six! There are six."

"And how many flower demons did you place in their path?"

"One!"

"..."

"...oh..."

As he placed the call for the cleanup of what was left of his 'retired' minion, he got some pleasure out of the fact that at least he had the girl. The flower would drive her mad. With luck she would dispatch of her friends on her own, then all he would have to do is send someone to fetch her as soon as night fell and the flower slept.

There would be no escape for the little miko in training now.

Soon she would come to him.

Soon she would be his.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

"Don't you TOUCH her!" snarled Inuyasha as he tossed Miroku into a tree.

The monk rolled to the right after landing to avoid another blue bolt of energy. "Knocking Kagome out is the only way to keep her from trying to kill us," he tried to explain as he dodged another bolt.

"You touch her and I'll make you regret…oooof" Inuyasha barely missed the bolt, it singed the hair off part of his left arm. "… that you were ever born."

"Why is Kagome glowing blue?" Shippo asked from Kilala's back as they dodged stray bolts of energy that came in their direction.

"Flower demon," explained Sango as she spied a couple of cameramen hiding in the bushes. And though part of her hated them for their part in this whole mess, she used to work with these people and didn't want to see them dead. "They infect their host, like a parasite. They fill the host's brain with images, dreams really, then use their bodies as puppets. They are rare, most were destroyed when the company decided to take over the island. Even though the flower demons are one of the indigenous species from this island," she told Shippo, as well as the audience watching at home. "They were relatively harmless until their species were all but wiped out and they had to fight for their existence."

Perhaps a little bad PR would make people take a closer look at the executives on the show. She was still a bit irritated that they had thought the slayers too stupid to bother with signing a non-disclosure agreement. All brawn and no brain they thought.

"Can the history lessons wait 'til later?" snapped Inuyasha.

"Draw your sword to deflect the spells," suggested Miroku as he made preparations for a defensive protective spell.

Inuyasha stopped his jump and nearly got zapped with a spell. He turned towards Miroku and spoke slowly. "Are you suggesting I draw a sword against Kagome?" His claws dug into the earth and he shot a murderous look towards his friend.

Miroku smiled innocently and held up his hands in surrender. "Of course not. No. Never. Heh…"

"Perhaps you should just fight silently for awhile," suggested Sango helpfully. "Before Inuyasha ends up killing you after all."

Inuyasha hoped Miroku took his girl-friend's advice. He couldn't deal with him and try to figure out what to do about Kagome at the same time. Right now all he could do was just keep moving and hope that he would think of something soon.

It was breaking his heart to see Kagome like this. Sure he had seen her angry before. Lots of times, actually. But this was different. Though she was hurling blue bolts of energy at them (badly, was she even aiming?), her face remained impassive. And her eyes were empty. Kagome was in front of him, but she wasn't really there.

"How do you defeat the flower?" he shouted in demand at Sango.

The demon slayer shook her head sadly. "You can't. It has merged with Kagome. If you hurt it then you hurt Kagome. Kill it and… well…"

Inuyasha swore viciously. He couldn't bear to think how Sango planned on finishing that sentence. The world would have no meaning without Kagome in it. He couldn't let anything happen to her. He just couldn't.

"There has to be a way."

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

"Good morning, Inuyasha!"

He smiled back at her and returned her wave. "Good morning, Kagome."

As usual he took her books from her and walked her to class. They stood outside the door smiling at each other. Home Economics for her and Shop class for him. He was determined to learn how to cook something and he enjoyed tearing things apart and putting them back together. Sometimes she shared her cooking experiments with him, the ones that didn't end up in the trash bin. And he was always helping out around the shrine fixing things for her family.

"See you at lunch," she said as she took her books back from him.

"Ok. By our tree."

With a blush she reached up and kissed him on the cheek. Then they waved goodbye and headed towards their classes. They were lucky that their classes were so close together, though she suspected he'd walk her to class regardless if they were on opposite ends of the campus. He was sweet that way. After one last wave she turned to walk into her classroom. She spied Sango texting on her phone (to Miroku of course) and went to go take her seat beside her.

Kagome frowned as she sat down.

Didn't Sango graduate already?

She shook her head, feeling a little fuzzy, then put her books away. The teacher came in and began talking about their new sewing project. Automatically Kagome pulled out the fabric that was in her bag and the embroidery yarn. But… weren't they supposed to be cooking? Maybe that was last week. She laughed at herself and concentrated on tracing the pattern on the fabric. Maybe she had been studying too hard. Or maybe that kiss from Inuyasha wiped out her brain.

Her hands froze as she reached for her scissors.

"You okay?" Sango whispered to her.

Kagome nodded absently. Since when was Inuyasha kissing her on the cheek like that? Suddenly her mind was filled with images of her and Inuyasha kissing. She remembered them, sort of. They were kisses that daydreams were made of. Kisses under falling cherry blossoms. Kisses under a sky filled with fireworks. Kisses at the beach. Kisses on a tropical island. Kisses in the rain. Gentle ones. Sweet ones. Fiery. Romantic. Passionate. And…

"Lies..." Kagome murmured as she touched her lips.

Inuyasha had never kissed her. He wasn't her boyfriend. He wasn't in love with her. The giddy farewells at classroom doors were something she had always dreamed about, but they never really happened. Sure he used to walk her to class, but usually he was growling at passersby who gave them dirty looks and called them names.

And Sango never once set foot in the Home Economics class. She claimed an allergy to baking. Besides, they weren't even in the same grade.

Suddenly the world around her began to fade and she heard Inuyasha shouting her name at the top of his lungs. She started running, then stopped when she realized she had no idea where she was or where she was going.

"INUYASHA!"

"Sleep, girl."

Kagome spun around at the soft voice, but saw no one behind her.

"I will give you your dreams, just sleep."

She stomped her foot and clenched her fists. "I don't want dreams. I want reality. I want Inuyasha!" That's when she noticed the flower still in her hand. It was glowing blue. And somehow looked angry.

"Vengeance," it hissed.

Grass grew suddenly beneath her feet. It dwarfed her until she felt like she was only two inches tall. Wasn't there a book like this? She looked around her at the field of flowers, heads bopping in the breeze. Then a blaze of fire swept across a section of them four feet wide. The screaming echoed in her head. She looked up to see half a dozen humans in equipment that looked similar to fire fighters.

"Hide!" she heard voices scream before their voices ended abruptly.

"Dig!" other voices yelled, before their own screaming began.

She found herself being pulled into the ground by few of the flowers around her. Felt them piling on top of her. She wanted to hold her hands to her ears to drown out the horrible sounds, but found she was immobile. She watched her mother's face as it burned, then disintegrated. She cried out, but was silence quickly by a vine. More dirt was poured on top of her. And ashes. She heard sobbing. Then all she heard was the sound of crackles and pops, the charred remains of her family and friends. Then there was silence.

"I'm so sorry," Kagome cried as she held the flower closer to her face and gently stroked the petals. "I'm so sorry for your loss."

"Everyone is gone. And I am alone."

"Others must have survived. They must have." Kagome sniffed and tried to stop the tears. "I'll help you find them."

"You… you will?" The flower was silent for a moment. "But… you're a human. Why would you help me?"

Kagome smiled warmly.

"Do you promise to help me?" it asked in a small and uncertain voice.

"Yes, I do."

There was a moment of silence. "My name was once Joi. But I'd like you to call me Doki."

"Wrath, huh? Ok, Doki. But one day… one day I will call you Joi once again." She winked at the little flower that was turning from blue to violet.

The world began changing once more and she heard her friend's worried voices. Her arms and legs were bound, and she felt Doki begin to shrink and unravel itself (herself, she would bet) from around her. Her neck tickled and she tried not to giggle. Then it came to her attention that she was still bound, even though the flower was now halfway back to her normal size.

"Kagome?"

The voice sent rumblings through her body. Apparently it was Inuyasha's arms wrapped around her torso that kept her arms bound. And his legs were wrapped around hers in such a way that it kept her own legs from moving. It was his hair that was tickling her neck, and she could feel his chest rumble against her back as he spoke.

Maybe… maybe she could fake still being under the flower's spell… for just a little longer.

Author's Note:

Thank you very much for your reviews. I appreciate that you take the time to let me know what you think.

Sorry writing is taking awhile. I'm having some medical issues this year that are just a pain in the keister and are getting in the way of writing.


	12. Hearts and Flowers

Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

Chapter Twelve:

Episode Fourteen: Hearts and Flowers

"Wow! Did you see that, folks?" The announcer laughed merrily, "Now that demon wasn't kidding when he said he'd show the competitor his still beating heart. Guess he knows now that it isn't just an empty threat after all. After yesterday's disappointing flower demon attack, it is good to see the demons back in the game."

"Do we have to listen to her?" complained Shippo. "Her voice hurts my ears."

Sango smiled and turned the volume on her hand held television down a bit. "Sorry Shippo. But we are better off knowing just what they are saying. I'll see if I can find headphones and we can take turns listening to the show." She eyed Inuyasha's fierce expression. "Er... Miroku and I will take turns, that is." Inuyasha's mood was worse than usual.

"Take that stupid thing out of your hair, for cryin' out loud!"

Kagome turned to Inuyasha and scowled at his sudden outburst. "Doki is not a thing! Don't be mean, Inuyasha." Kagome's mood wasn't so great either.

The dog demon growled at the flower that made itself home on top of Kagome's head. He could swear it was smirking at him as it continued to weave Kagome's hair continuously into odd designs. It was weirding him out. "It's not safe," he grumbled. Not to mention it gave hideous hairstyles. Hair was not supposed to stick straight up. Kagome wasn't a porcupine!

"She's fine," his friend sighed. Her hand went to tuck in the hair by her ear (she did that sometimes when she was frustrated), but found the hair had been braided and flopped right back. "She's not doing anything to you, so just leave her alone."

"I don't like it."

"Fine," she snapped as fire seemed to erupt from her aura. "Then DON'T bother helping me find her family. Just go ahead and DROP out of my life. AGAIN!" Angrily she turned on her heel, a head full of braids whipped around, and she stalked ahead of the group.

Shippo bit Inuyasha in the head.

"Ow! What'd ya do that for, brat?"

"You made Kagome mad."

"She's the one being an idiot!" The dog demon plucked Shippo off of his head and tossed him backwards. It was insane to let a demon who had tried to kill her just make itself at home in her hair. What was she thinking? It was infuriating how she trusted too easily. You'd think she would have learned by now. Angrily, he ran ahead of the group, passing Kagome before disappearing into the wooded area.

"They have issues," Sango explained as she picked Shippo up and set him on her shoulder.

"It's all Inuyasha's fault, isn't it?"

Miroku and Sango looked at it each other. "It's not that simple," Miroku told the kit.

"Kagome and Inuyasha were the best of friends when I met them," Sango explained as he made himself comfortable. "Inseparable. They walked to school together. Had lunch together. Had as many classes as they could fit together. Walked home together. Did homework together. Hung out... well, you get the picture. Then one day Inuyasha stopped talking to her, he just sort of... disappeared from her life."

"Why?"

Sango bit her lip, then looked away. "It's not my place to say."

Shippo looked to Miroku, who shrugged and answered, "Nor mine."

"Inuyasha is mean!"

Sango smiled gently at him. "Just remember that there are more sides to a story than one."

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Inuyasha pulled up short at the sight in front of him.

This must be the clearing where the fight from the show happened. The heart of the man was certainly ripped out. Along with nearly every other organ. But this demon wasn't a hungry demon apparently. It didn't eat the man, just... took him apart. The smells were too overwhelming to figure out what kind of demon it was right away. It was some sort of cat demon. Tiger? Lion maybe? No. Leopard. Fast and deadly. Hopefully it was long gone. They liked to play with their food before eating... But they were also great at hiding, so it made sense to turn back around and take a different path. Maybe head more towards the shore.

The rustling of leaves jolted him into action.

Kagome!

He couldn't let her see this. He couldn't let her see what had happened to this man!

"STOP!" he yelled as he ran in her direction.

"WHAT is your problem?" she snapped.

"Just stop... you need..."

"No, you need to just stop. You can't keep trying to boss me around after just disappearing out of my life without a word. No email. No text. No phone call. No note on a stupid little scrap of paper! Pffft! Just gone!" Her hands were waving wildly. He worried that it would attract the wrong kind of attention.

"Now? You want to have this conversation now?" He rubbed his hand over his face. "Look, I'll tell you later, ok? We need to..."

"Talk. We need to talk. And yes. Now. I'm tired of wondering, of feeling guilty, but not knowing what I should be feeling guilty about." She put her hands on her hips and glared. Even the plant thing had stopped its weaving and was glaring at him (he was fairly certain it was at any rate).

That surprised him. "Guilty?"

Her eyes suddenly filled with tears (the change in emotions threw him for a loop) and he felt a little sick to his stomach. He hated it when she cried. "I don't know what I did to make you hate me," she said with a rough voice, trying to keep back full blown sobbing. He recognized that tone and absolutely dreaded it. "I'm sorry... whatever it was I'm sorry."

Quickly he gathered her into his arms and held her close.

"Don't you dare apologize!" He stroked her hair. "You didn't do anything wrong. You were wonderful. You were the perfect friend. You were OUCH!" He jumped back and started rubbing his leg where Kagome had viciously kicked him. The tears were gone and she was glaring at him again.

"You creep! You miserable worm! How could you make me think I had done something horrible and make me feel like that for all this time? You rotten CAT!"

"Cat?"

She backed up a step with wide eyes. "Giant cat... giant fangs... chewing on..." She turned her head quickly and made a gagging sound.

Inuyasha spun around. There behind him was a giant leopard demon. No... two of them. He couldn't see the second one, but he could smell it. "Don't run," he told Kagome. "Be still." Running would just draw their attention, and there was no way she could outrun a leopard demon. And he couldn't fight them both if the cats split up. Their only hope was if he made them think that it was just him they were fighting.

"Looks like the delinquent may have to give up an arm and leg this battle," giggled a familiar voice, just as one of the demons dropped a human leg that it had been chewing on. Oddly enough, the voice came from three different directions. "The will be fighting like cats and dogs. Tooth and nail! Will this finally be the end of the girl who thought she could play fast and loose with the rules of the game?"

The softest of the three voices was coming from behind them, but was coming fast. That would be from Sango's little handheld television. Good. That meant that they were on their way. Hopefully they would get here before the cats decided to split up and attack from both sides. The other two of the identical voices were coming from opposite ends of the clearing. When had the cameramen snuck up on them? Then he noticed the little pieces of paper stuck to their clothing. Spells. Their scent was being cloaked by spells!

A rumbling sound behind him made Inuyasha curse. Kagome gasped. He didn't have to turn around to know that a third demon had snuck up on them from behind. That's what he hated about the leopard demons. They were stealthy. Super annoyingly stealthy.

"I've got your back," Kagome whispered. He smiled at that. Her voice was trembling, but she was planning on going down fighting. He felt her draw her bow.

But it wasn't a zing of an arrow zipping through the air that he heard, it was the sound of a whip. It was so unusual that he had to turn around and look. Apparently Doki was useful for more than just braiding hair. All the cats stopped and took a step back as the stem of the flower had grown into a thorned whip several feet long and slashed through the air.

"We arrrrre not afrrrraid of you, puppy," one of the leopards purred as she started walking towards Inuyasha.

The she-cat leapt through the air and Inuyasha prepared for the attack. He heard Kagome turn around and draw her arrow, so he bolted under the leaping cat and charged the one furthest away. He listened as the arrow hit its mark and the she-cat screamed in agony. He launched himself into the air and did a flip to land behind the remaining leopard demon. Quickly he scanned the area. One demon was turning into pink dust, and the third was firmly wrapped up in thorny vines. Inuyasha grinned. He kept the grin on his face as his opponent turned to face him. Faded gray eyes looked at him in fear. Then they blinked, and the demon disappeared.

Leopard demons can't actually disappear, or the one being tortured by the flower would have disappeared as soon as it was caught. But they are masters of blending in to the environment almost to the point of invisibility. The only demon better at that was the chameleon demon. But since no one ever saw them, it was difficult to prove.

Sango and Miroku dropped from the sky ready for battle, Kirara circling up above them with Shippo on her back.

"You're a little late," Inuyasha said.

"A black cat crossed our path..." Miroku said with a smile.

"No more watching Naruto for you," Sango said as she elbowed him in the ribs. "Sorry, there an overly playful kitten blocking our path."

More leopard demons? Why were they hunting as a pack? Oh right, there was a price on their heads.

"Ewwwwww..."

Inuyasha turned to Kagome. She was trying really hard to not watch as the flower demon extracted its vines and started shrinking back up. It tried to go back to braiding her hair, but she begged the flower demon to wait until the fur and blood was cleaned off. The little demon seemed to deflate a little, then seemed to look at Inuyasha's hair with interest.

"Don't even think of it, weed."

Sango called to the plant and it went off with her in search of water. Miroku went with her. To keep her safe. Right. One of the camera crews followed them. Probably hoping some bathing would happen that they could capture on film. The other crew wisely decided to follow the injured demons or maybe find the remaining contestants to bother.

"We're going on ahead," Inuyasha told Kirara. "Make sure they catch up."

"Mew!"

He started walking away when he heard Kagome say, "Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Don't think you can get out of an explanation that easy, Inuyasha." She stormed up next to him. It was hard to take her seriously when her hair looked like a demented ragdoll's. That was going to take weeks to untangle.

"You tell 'em, Kagome!" cheered Shippo.

"You call THAT easy?"

"Fine, then," she sniffed in a huff. "Don't tell me. I don't care."

Inuyasha watched as she marched off, careful not to look at the carnage around them.

"I don't understand," complained Shippo.

"That's cuz you're a dummy."

"Kagoooooomeeeeeee!"

Inuyasha turned to face slightly away from the area where Kagome had walked. He made certain she didn't move too far ahead. "Brat."

Shippo kicked Inuyasha in the shin. "That's for being mean to Kagome!"

"Stop that."

But Shippo kept kicking, then added in a few bites around his ankle. "If I was her I'd never talk to you again," he growled between bites. "If you left me all alone like you left her, then I'd never ever EVER speak to you again. Even if I was stuck on some stupid island with things trying to kill me!"

"It wasn't like that." He folded his arms and kept watch out of the corner of his eye as Kagome left them.

"Sango said you were friends."

"We were. We are." Inuyasha sighed and looked down at the kit, who took that as an invitation to climb up his body and perch himself on top of his head. "I had to do it."

"Do what?" asked Shippo as he gnawed on Inuyasha's head. Obviously the kit was so focused on chewing on him that he had forgotten his question.

"I had to leave her alone."

That stopped the sharp pointy teeth. "What? Why?"

Inuyasha began walking the direction Kagome had taken. Shippo was still firmly planted on his head. If he started braiding then the kitzune was a dead demon. "Kagome was my best friend. She talked to me when no one else would. She liked me when all the others hated me. She saved my life when everyone else would have been happy if I had died. I would give my life to keep her safe."

"But... that doesn't make sense. Why abandon her then?"

Inuyasha sighed again. "Remember that I said that everyone hated me? Well, being friends with me wasn't doing her reputation at school much good."

"But..."

Inuyasha glared at the kit, and the youngster closed his mouth. "I started checking Kagome's locker between classes after the day we found a threatening letter in it. Every day there were threats. Mean, cruel notes saying terrible things about her. About us. Some of the notes had pictures with them, of her. And of detailed threats. Death threats. I had to disappear. I couldn't let her get hurt because of me."

"You just left her all alone?"

Inuyasha snorted. "You think Kagome would have let me just break off our friendship if I actually told her why? You know her better than that. She wouldn't have budged and would have just stood up to them and gotten them even madder. I couldn't put her at risk. It was better to have a clean break. That way she couldn't try to change my mind."

Shippo moved to his shoulder. "But wasn't it dangerous to leave Kagome without any protection if anyone was threatening her?"

"I'm not an idiot, stupid. I followed her to and from school, just without her seeing. I guarded her locker and kept an eye on her in the halls. I had to get Sango to help me though. Some places I couldn't follow."

"Why not?"

"Locker rooms and bathrooms..."

"So?"

"No more questions, brat. Go scout ahead for a place to camp. Keep an eye out for more leopards."

Shippo brightened then jumped off his shoulder and darted ahead. Inuyasha stopped walking and looked to the right. Kagome was leaning against a tree looking at him with the strangest expression. He tried not to blush. Then he started walking again. His ears swiveled as he heard her footsteps follow lightly behind him. He was praying that she didn't ask him any more questions. It was easier to pretend she couldn't hear him when he couldn't see her. He turned his head from her and fought the blush on his cheeks as her hand slipped in his.

"You are an idiot," she said fondly.

"Keh."

Author's Note: In case you are wondering, the Episodes are not numbered in exact order. Some of the Episodes aired aren't in the chapters. Only chapters that involve our friendly announcer are episodes, everything else is a regular ol' chapter.


	13. Down the Rabbit Hole

Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

Chapter Thirteen: Down the Rabbit Hole

"So we can talk about it now? It's no longer a secret?"

"Shut up, Sango."

"Like how Inuyasha used to sleep outside of her window at night?"

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, MIROKU!"

"He what?" asked a very surprised schoolgirl turned survivalist in a loud voice.

They were all talking in loud voices because of the water. Earlier that day they decided to leave the wooded area and start walking along the beach. It wasn't one of those nice sandy beaches though, it was filled with rocks and boulders for them to climb over. To her left was a tall wall of rock. When they first started out she had looked up and thought it looked several stories high. She thought it was a little odd at first that they were walking along the coast. The crashing waves were loud and looked a little dangerous. But Sango had mentioned that they were looking for a possible escape route. She felt that there had to be a boat docked somewhere on this island for the workers to escape on should the demons decide to turn on them. Luckily there hadn't been any sign of demons. Or the remaining competitors.

But Inuyasha wasn't listening, and neither was Miroku. The dog demon was bounding from rock to rock chasing the monk shouting a list of creative curse words and physically impossible threats. So Kagome turned her attention back to Sango. A raised eyebrow was all the encouraging the slayer needed to start talking.

"It wasn't every night," she explained as she kept an eye out for the monk, just in case he needed her help. Luckily he was pretty spry. "But there were several nights he slept in the tree, yes."

"Um... why?"

Sango scooped up Kirara, and Kagome worried that the slayer thought she might need protection from the answer. She glanced around to see if Shippo was within earshot, but he was too busy pretending Doki was a whip to use against Inuyasha whenever he raced past. Kagome really wished she had a camcorder, or even just a camera. It was really a sight to see. Oddly enough, the little flower demon seemed to be enjoying herself as well. It seemed to have a pinkish tint to the petals, and there was an odd feeling of happiness echoing around in her head. She wondered if the little demon had left a seed of sorts of herself in her head.

"He mentioned that you were getting many death threats, right?"

"Yes... Though I never saw any."

Sango waved that away. "He made sure you never did. He didn't want you living in fear. He would break into your locker between classes and check it for notes or snakes or rotted food. He may have been able to... dissuade them from confronting you at school. But he worried that they would try to harm you and your family at home. So he was... well... a guard dog."

It was sweet, but a little weird. Snakes? Don't ask... just... really don't ask.

"Ok, I get that he was trying to protect me by keeping his distance. But he obviously kept in touch with you two... why?"

"So you just overheard him talking? How did you manage that?"

"He knew I was there and was talking unusually loud, Ms. Subject Changer. He was hoping I'd 'overhear' accidently," she said while making air quotation marks. Then cringed, because she hated it when people did that. "Now, WHY did he keep in touch with you two?"

Sango squirmed a little, then pretended to watch the waves for a few moments. "He needed us to help keep an eye on you. And since we are human, we wouldn't draw the same kind of negative attention."

"But you guys both graduated already. You graduated the same year he stopped talking to me. How could you keep an eye on me if you guys weren't even in school anymore?"

"Um..."

"Yes?"

"Well, the rest of that year was the worst for people wanting to punish you for your involvement with him. After that, well...he knew that you and I still emailed and texted each other. And most of my college classes were online, so..."

"You SPIED on me?"

Sango fidgeted. "Oh Kagome, 'Spied' is such a harsh word. I was just letting a concerned friend know how you were. And... Taking my classes from... the roof of your school."

"What?"

"You get great signal reception up there," she smiled.

Kagome clenched her fists and tried to keep from snarling. "Is that why Miroku dated my friends? To spy on me too?"

"He what?"

It was Kagome's turn to fidget. "Um..."

"HE WHAT?"

Miroku and Inuyasha froze in their tracks as Sango very nearly exploded. Inuyasha whispered to his friend what Kagome had said (thanks to good ol' demon hearing), and the monk turned sheet white. Kagome tried to look apologetic, then yelled for him to run. She quickly scooped up Shippo (and Doki) and dashed for cover. The flower demon sought refuge in her hair as the demon slayer gave chase. Even Inuyasha looked a little nervous. Peeking from behind a large boulder, Kagome watched as Sango leapt over boulders and screamed at the monk. He was fast, but she was faster. Kirara, Kagome noticed, was staying out of the fight. She looked up at Kagome from the ground and mewed. Kagome balanced Shippo in one arm, then opened the other wide for the fire cat to jump on as well.

She was torn between looking at Inuyasha (who was watching the spectacle) and watching Sango hunt Miroku. He was laughing (Inuyasha, not Miroku... Miroku was busy pleading for mercy and trying to explain that it was all one big misunderstanding).

All that time he was so close to her and she never knew it. She wasn't quite sure what to feel about that. Part of her was flattered and warmed by the thought that he cared enough to stalk her. Part of her was embarrassed that he probably spent several nights listening to her cry. But the biggest part was of anger that he and the others had kept this from her for so long. They may have had good intentions, but that didn't make up for the heart ache she had gone through. She had been devastated by his abandonment.

OOoooh, he made her so mad sometimes. She stomped her foot in frustration.

But instead of the satisfying thump she was expecting, there was a breaking sound. Kagome didn't even have time to scream before she fell.

She did, however, start screaming after she was swallowed up by darkness. Shippo screamed as well, and Kirara let out a loud screeching sound. The firecat wiggled loose and launched herself off of Kagome and began to change. But the hole was too narrow for a full sized firecat demon and she could not fly down to their rescue, no matter how hard she tried. Kirara's body blocked out the remaining light as she stuck in the hole. Kagome's heart raced and she couldn't breathe.

"Kagooomeeee!"cried Shippo.

The kit's terror spurred Kagome into action. Reacting on instinct she fought against the forces ripping at her body from the fall, and reached behind her. With great difficulty she was able to pull out an arrow. But she was falling too fast and lost her grip on it. Tears pricked at her eyes as she reached for another. She only had three left. Grabbing an arrow firmly, she stabbed it into the wall of the hole. Her arms nearly jerked out of their sockets, but she held tight. She felt vines wrap around her body, and realized that Doki was wrapping herself around them all. A vine whipped out and started smacking the walls, likely looking for roots or rocks to slow their fall. Amazingly enough, they did start to slow. Kagome bent her legs and began to press the soles of her shoes against the wall. Eventually they came to a stop.

The girl was breathing hard and trembling when she finally stopped moving. She knew she wouldn't be able to hold on to the arrow for long. Grateful for the feel of Shippo's tiny claws digging into her shoulder, Kagome tried to focus on what she should do next. She rested her head against the cool dirt of the walls, the slowly reached out her left foot. She was so terrified that her whole body was shaking.

"That was so cool," whispered Shippo, just as her foot found the opposite end of the tunnel.

Better braced, Kagome relaxed a fraction. She wasn't going to be able to stand like that for long. Her legs were already threatening to give. She tried to scream for Inuyasha, but only a squeak came out.

"Wow! We sure fell a looooong way!" the kit exclaimed. "I wonder how far from the bottom we are."

Kagome looked down. Which was a pretty big mistake. All she saw was pitch black ready to swallow her up. She took a breath to try to calm herself, and looked up instead. All she saw was pitch black. For one dizzying moment she felt like the world had turned upside down and she no longer knew which way was up.

Just as she began envisioning white rabbits with waistcoats and watches, Kagome felt Doki loosen herself, then begin to slide down her arm. Down to her leg. Then balance on her foot. She got the impression the flower demon was trying to be encouraging, right before she dropped down into the darkness.

"Doki!" yelled Kagome. "NO!"

"What happened, Kagome?"

"I..." Tell the kit that their newest companion just jumped to her death? "I don't know... but everything is going to be alright. Just wait and see."

"Think we can climb back up?"

Kagome gave a semblance of a laugh. She worried it might sound a bit manic. "No... at least, I know I can't. What about you? Can you climb up?"

Shippo grabbed on tighter. "I ain't leaving you!"

Kagome bit her lip. How very much like Inuyasha he just sounded. "Can you? If you can climb up safely, then you can get Inuyasha. And he can come get me."

"Well... that makes sense... but it don't feel right."

"Just try." If Shippo could make it up, then at least one of them would make it out alive. Kagome got a sort of pleasure out of the fact that the cameras weren't going to capture her death on film for everyone to 'enjoy'. She didn't want her family seeing her die. She didn't want Inuyasha to see it. "Please."

It took a couple of precious seconds for Shippo to consider it. Then he began to reluctantly climb. His tiny claws gave him the traction he needed and he was easily able to climb. He had gone a few feet when he called back.

"Are you sure you are going to be okay?"

"Be safe, Shippo. Climb straight up. Tell Inuyasha..." No... she couldn't say that. It would scare Shippo. She tried to make her voice sound perky and cheerful. Tell him I forgive him. Tell him I love him, have always loved him. Tell him his friendship meant the world to me. Tell him... "Tell Inuyasha to hurry up."

She was glad for the darkness. Glad that Shippo would see her tears. Her arms were too tired, too sore, to be of any use. Her position was far too precarious to hold for long, so she said a prayer, then pressed up against the far wall with her toes and pivoted her body. Luck was on her side, for she didn't fall to her immediate death. Instead she now had her back to one side of the hole, while her legs and arms pressed against the other. There wasn't much room, and it hurt, but it felt a little more stable. She sat there and listened to the sounds of Shippo scurrying up the hole. Once or twice she shouted her encouragement.

The adrenaline, which had helped her hold on to the arrow, was beginning to seep away. She felt numb, and exhausted. Shippo would never make it to the top in time. Her head got a little fuzzy, and she could swear she heard someone calling her name. But it sounded so far away, like an echo in her head.

Then she felt herself floating.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

STUPID!

HE WAS SO STUPID!

How could he let Kagome out of his sight for even one second?

All his fault, it was all his fault that she... that she... Panic gripped his heart so hard it thought it might implode. He had to believe that she was still alive. He just had to... But no one could survive a fall like that. He gulped. The hole was too narrow, she would have been torn to bits along the walls of the hole long before she ever hit the bottom.

He had only looked away for a moment when she had disappeared. At first he was only a little confused. But then alarmed. Then downright terrified, especially since her scent had disappeared. He was already where she had been standing only moments before when he saw Kirara coming out of a well hidden hole. Obviously someone had tried to camouflage it, and Kagome hadn't noticed that she was only standing on a few sticks and leaves.

There hadn't been a moment's hesitation before he jumped down the hole after her. He let himself freefall until he smelled a familiar demon scent coming closer, then he dug his claws into the walls of the hole.

"Inuyasha?"

The dog demon breathed a sigh of relief. "Shippo... where's... where is Kagome?"

The tired kit began to cry. "I didn't want to leave her! She said to get you. She said to hurry. I didn't want to go!"

"Can you make it back to the top?"

"I want to go with you." He whined. "I want to help Kagome."

Inuyasha reached down and grabbed Shippo by his shirt. "Help her by getting to the top and out of the way. Let Sango and Miroku know what's going on." That was all the warning Inuyasha gave him before tossing him upwards. He couldn't let the youngster see... and he didn't have it in him to worry about anyone other than Kagome just now.

It was dark, and even his enhanced vision wouldn't let him see more than a few feet at a time. So he would let himself drop a few feet before digging in his claws. It was excruciatingly slow, but he couldn't risk causing Kagome anymore damage by landing on her. He could smell her blood, would see the grooves her arrowhead had left in the wall. His Kagome was a fighter. He tried to hurry his descent. The grooves meant that she had been able to slow her fall. Maybe she was waiting for him.

"Kagome!" he called. "KAGOME!"

Then he saw the arrow sticking out of the side of the hole. It was sticky blood. And there was no Kagome.

"Kagome..."

His eyes stung, but he ignored them and kept moving downwards. He would find her.

He had to find her.

_Please... please let me find her,_ he prayed.

The hole seemed to go on forever. He wondered if it had an end. But he was half afraid to find out. Despair numbed him as he continued on. Life had been miserable not being able to speak to Kagome. He had contented himself to watching over her, but he had missed her terribly. Missed having her look at him with her warm and gentle eyes. Missed having her put her hand on his arm when she was telling a joke or whispering to him to ignore the losers who would tease them. Missed watching television with her, side by side. But at least when they had been separated he had been able to hear her voice, to see her, from afar. Life would be unbearable if she...

Then he caught her scent. It was still several yards below, so he let himself drop. Not that he would have had much choice in the matter, the hole soon gave way to an open cavern.

"KAGOME!" He landed and bounced upwards to get a better view of their surroundings.

It took a moment, but he finally found her. Kagome was on the ground moving slowly off to the side. No, that wasn't right. She was being drug. Vines and flowers were wrapped around her body dragging her off. Her eyes were closed and her body was boneless.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!"

The flowers stopped moving her as he leapt in their direction. Slowly the flowers drew away, leaving a battered, bruised, and bloody Kagome lying silent. Inuyasha swallowed a sob as he reached for her face. She... she was breathing.

Alive...

She's alive!

He went weak and dropped next to her, shaking. He touched trembling lips to her forehead. "Thank you."

"Am I dead?" she whispered in a hoarse voice, eyes still closed.

There was so much he wanted to tell her. So much to say. He brushed her bangs from her face and whispered, "Idiot."

Kagome laughed, then groaned. She moved to sit up, then hissed as her raw palms touched the ground.

"Just lay there," he told her gruffly, "You're injured."

"Only a few bruises and scrapes, Inuyasha. I'm fine."

"You're not fine."

"Am too."

"Kagome..."

"Just help me up."

"Kagome... I..."

"Please?"

He had no chance against her eyes as they looked up at him pleadingly. He stood up, then scooped her up in his arms. That's about when he noticed that he could actually see her, that the darkness had receded a bit. Holding Kagome close to his heart, he began to look around.

"I can stand, Inuyasha."

"Just be still." He needed to hold her, whether or not she could stand. Kagome didn't argue. Maybe she needed to hold him too.

"The flowers saved me," Kagome told him as she leaned her head into his shoulder and sighed. "They formed some sort of rope, I think, and carried me down."

He hadn't really paid much attention to the fact that they were still surrounded by flowers. Or even really wondered why flowers were growing so far underground. "Doki's family?" he asked.

Kagome shook her head with a laugh. "Yeah, but I think she just going to go by Joi now." She struggled to stand, and this time he let go of her. Her balance was off, so she kept her hand on his arm. And he didn't mind one little bit. "She says they went underground to hide until the humans left their island. But..." She tilted to her head to one side, looking an awful lot like a puppy listening. It made him smile. "But she says they found something interesting down here. Something we all should see." She turned her attention to one of the flowers. "Joi, do you think you can help the others get down here?"

The flower made a trilling sound, then a wave of flora swept across the cavern floor and up into the hole.

"I'm sorry," Inuyasha said. There wasn't much time for the others to be alone before the others came, and he had to get the words out.

"It was an accident."

"No..." He took her hand and turned her to face him. "I mean I'm sorry that I didn't stay by your side. I wasted so much time being stupid. I don't want to waste anymore time, Kagome. I don't want to be without you anymore." He took a breath. "I know people will talk. And humans and demons both aren't going to like us being together. But for as long as you want me to be with you, I'm yours."

Kagome blinked, then frowned. "I'm still asleep aren't I?"

"What?"

"Same dream, different setting. Not the most romantic setting either. My imagination has gone down the tubes. Wake UP, Kagome!" She pinched her arm, then winced at the pain in her hand AND her arm.

"Idiot."

He pulled her close and held her. Same dream, eh? He smiled into her hair, then kissed the top of her head. Slowly she breathed his name and raised her arms to his shoulders, then she pulled back just enough so she could look into his eyes. Apparently she realized she wasn't dreaming after all and blushed.

Then slowly they both leaned forward...

Author's Note: Thanks for your kind reviews. They sure are appreciated!


	14. Then There Were Two

Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

Chapter Fourteen: Then There Were Two

Episode 18

"Wow! What a twist folks! Who would have thought that two people who were so close to one another would turn on each other like that? Did you see how the bigger one turned on the smaller one and shoved 'em at the oncoming demons? Talk about cold blooded! Guess the prize of freedom was worth more than their friendship. Oh wait! The smaller guy bounced back up and ran! Look at those little legs go! And the sheep demon gives chase! He's right on his buddy's heels! Is he going to trip him? Knock him down?" The cheery announcer was nearly giddy with anticipation. She nearly jumped to her feet as she exclaimed, "No! Ha! Well look at that... all he did was outrun him. Just in time too, the sheep demon caught up at last. And there goes an arm. Funny how something so cute and cuddly looking can be such a bloodthirsty monster."

"You said it," came an off camera voice with a snort.

The announcer glared at the cameraman before apparently remembering she was still being filmed. Then she pasted on practically patented cheerful smile. "Well, as I always say, you don't have to run faster than the demon, you just have to run faster than your friend!"

She shuffled papers without looking at them then smiled into the camera as two pictures went up into the corner of the screen as the sheep demon continued to eat the fallen man. "Looks like we are down to just two competitors. Who will be the last one standing? Our speedy little man or the elusive delinquent? The only way to find out is to stay tuned!"

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Kagome sighed as Miroku turned down the volume. Sango had refused to take another step, regardless of what the flowers said, until Kagome's wounds had been seen too. But Kagome wasn't thinking about the sting of her wounds or man eating sheep or the even the race to stay alive. Her cheeks turned red as she glanced at Inuyasha. He was steadfastedly not looking directly at her. Though she did catch him stealing looks once in awhile. Yes, her thoughts were somewhere else entirely.

"I think she has a fever," Sango said worriedly as she felt Kagome's head.

Out the many many (hooo boy, oh so MANY) scenarios Kagome had dreamed up about her first kiss, down in the dank underground caverns while fighting for her life covered in blood and bruises was certainly NOT on the list. She melted a little on the inside. Oh but it had been unforgettable.

There had been a faint scent of flowers still hanging in the air when they had been left alone by the flower demons. A soft glow came from somewhere in the cavern, letting her just see the gold in his eyes. They had stood close together, before both leaning towards each other at the same time. His hands moved slowly from her arms to her shoulders. And his lips...

"Maybe we should rest here a bit," suggested Sango as she continued checking for a fever, "Or maybe I could stay with her while you guys scout up ahead."

_I'd rather Inuyasha stay_, Kagome thought to herself. She was a bit irritated that Sango kept interrupting her lovely memories. She could still feel his lips on hers... she hadn't expected them to be so soft. So gentle... Kagome sighed. At least their descent had been slow down into the cavern. She hummed to herself. Yes, nice and slow and wow... She still felt tingles from where they had touched.

"Kagome?"

"I'm fine," she told Sango in a tone more grumpy than she would have liked. She only barely kept from batting away her friend's hands. "Let's just go." She wanted the attention away from her so she could immerse herself in her memories.

Inuyasha shyly smiled at her as he not so subtly moved Sango out of the way and helped Kagome up. His back was to their friends, so she knew the smile was just for her. They hadn't talked about it, they had been too... um... busy really, to even think about it. But they knew that they just weren't ready for their friends to know. Maybe when they escaped the island. Or after she graduates. Or maybe a few years from now... Miroku was bound to tease them mercilessly, and neither one of them was looking forward to that. Maybe after they were safely married with a few kids running around.

Wait...

Would Inuyasha want to still be together once they escaped? He abandoned her (sort of) for such a long time because of how people would react to them together. And that was when they were just friends. Would he be willing to make such a huge step? Would he want to be in a romantic relationship with her once they were home?

Kagome was still caught up in her worries when she ran straight into Inuyasha's back. He turned to steady her, and gave her a concerned look.

"What's wrong?" he whispered, voice slightly husky.

She shook her head. She didn't want to voice her worries, scared that they'd have to talk about it. And that she might not like the answers. Instead she gave him a smile. He only frowned in return, so perhaps it wasn't as convincing as she thought it was. He opened his mouth to say something when Shippo spoke up loudly.

"You two sure are taking all this in stride. You'd think you'd be a little more excited."

Kagome blushed to the roots of her hair. Inuyasha turned to snap at the kit and scold him, but froze. Curious now, Kagome peeked from behind her friend.

Oh.

Wow.

In front of them was a pool of water surrounded by lights. But it wasn't the pool of water the flowers were crawling around that was so interesting. It was the giant submarine sitting in the water that caused her to gasp.

They were SAVED!

She didn't even bother to try and not jump up and squeal in excitement. Not to mention a happy dance. She was finally really going home. Before she could think better of it, she hugged Inuyasha. The hug he gave her back was quick, but it was a hug.

"This must be the control room," came Miroku's voice over a loudspeaker, before he said 'oof' and the speaker was shut down. Kagome looked around to see Sango and Miroku in a small little room with a wall of glass that was surrounded by equipment. Miroku was rubbing his ribs and his head. In an odd sort of way he looked a bit like he was trying to do that trick where you pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time. Maybe it was the giddiness of getting to go home, but the sight made Kagome laugh.

Kirara was already bounding down the ramp and hopping up onto the water craft.

"Does anyone know how to drive a submarine?" asked Kagome, once the laughter died down. She wondered how in the world she couldn't have noticed a submarine.

Everyone stopped what they were doing. They looked at each other. Then as one they all slumped to the ground.

"So close," sighed Miroku. "We were so close."

"How hard could it be?" asked Sango.

"We can wing it."

"Wing driving a submarine, Inuyasha?" asked Kagome skeptically, feeling more defeated than ever before. Escape had been soooo close! "Does anyone know if you even have to have a key for it? Aren't there supposed to be coordinates or something?" Her eyes widened in horror as she remembered movies she had seen with her brother, "Don't you explode if you come up too fast?"

"I don't want to explode," cried Shippo, clinging to Kagome for comfort.

"Well, we need to make a decision soon before they wake up."

Kagome and Inuyasha turned in unison in the direction Sango was pointing. "They?"

Together they walked over to the control booth and peeked in the window. Lying on a heap on the floor were two men in security uniforms. Kagome wondered how she didn't notice that her friends had not only found a huge submarine in the middle of the cavern (in a lit area no less), but they also somehow subdued two security guards. How was it possible that just thinking about a kiss would melt her brain so completely?

Oh but what a kiss it was...

Her knees went a little weak as she glanced over at Inuyasha and remembered their kiss. He looked a little confused for a moment, but when he looked in her eyes his own began to warm up. He began to reach for her when he obviously remembered they had an audience now. Oh yeah, and a chance of either escape or eminent capture and possibly death. What a mood killer.

"Maybe there's a driver's manual around here somewhere," Kagome said nervously as she kept as far away from the guards as possible as she entered the little room.

"I bet there are instructions on the internet," Miroku said cheerfully as he sat down at one of the two computers in the room. Luckily the guards had been using the computers before they were surprised, so passwords and logins were not required. "Oh look, there's a Wikipedia page for it."

Sango snorted, "You're going to trust our lives based on Wikipedia? Don't you know that anyone can edit those pages? My little brother might have gone in and edited those pages for all we know."

"Your brother probably WOULD know how to drive one," said Kagome with a smile as she continued to search the little room.

"Okay... _Inuyasha _might have gone in and edited those pages."

"HEY! I'm standing RIGHT here!"

Kagome stood up and frowned. "I don't see manuals of any sort here. Maybe we can find someone who knows how to drive one of those things and see if we can convince them to help us."

"By 'convince' do you mean 'kidnap' or 'threaten'?" asked Miroku from the computer, "And I believe the term you are looking for is 'piloting a submarine', not drive."

Sango began undressing one of the unconscious men. Kagome spun around and screeched, hands flying up to cover her eyes. Inuyasha jumped in front of her to block the view and screamed at the slayer. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"We can't just sit here waiting for Miroku to Google how to pilot a submarine. We will split up. He can research while I go see if I can find us a volunteer." The way she said 'volunteer' filled Kagome's head with visions of some battered and bruised soul being dragged behind her.

"Um... maybe you should stay here and keep Miroku safe in case these two wake up. I'll go search around upstairs for someone who can help us."

"No," snarled Inuyasha. "It's too dangerous."

The group bickered back and forth about who should go and who should stay. Sango continued to undress the guard (leaving him with his underclothes). Kagome dropped down to her knees and started unbuttoning the other guard's shirt, sending Inuyasha into a roaring frenzy. The noise ended up waking the guards, who had to be, well... put back to sleep.

In the end, it was decided that Shippo would stay and watch Miroku's back, with the help of the flower demons. Kagome, Sango, and Inuyasha were still arguing about who would wear the disguises and go searching for help when they heard a chuckle. Everyone froze, but the laughter continued.

"Welcome, Kagome Higurashi."

The man at the top of the spiral metal stairs was pretty, a little disturbingly pretty actually. Was that eye shadow? He was looking at her as if he knew her, but she was fairly certain she had never seen him before in her life. Then again, she had been on television for who knows how many days now. With as popular as the show was, it was entirely possible that millions of people knew who she was. Now THAT was a disturbing thought.

"Um... thanks?"

He smiled at her in a way that had her stepping back until she felt Inuyasha behind her. He was growling and his muscles were tensed. Quickly he placed himself between her and the man who was slowly descending the stairs. Sango and Miroku were both standing up and ready for a fight. Shippo had jumped up to her shoulder and was baring his tiny teeth. About a million flower demons were making their way to the base of the stairs. Whoever this guy was, he didn't have a chance.

"You do so look like Kikyo," the man said, not seeming to notice anyone except Kagome.

"Kikyo?"

"You may not be the woman I love," the stranger said with a shake of his head. "But you'll do."

Author's Note:

Thank you all for your support and your wonderful reviews. Y'all are great.

Just a reminder, though, swearing at me does not make me write faster. In fact, it generally sloooooooows me down.


	15. Are You Ready to Ruuuuuuumble?

Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

Chapter Fifteen: Are You Ready to Ruuuuumble!

"You are indeed lovely, Kagome Higurashi." Though he didn't move, Kagome could almost feel the strange man reaching out as if to touch her. She shivered in revulsion, bile burning in the back of her throat. "Not quite a copy of Kikyo. But close... so very close."

Being compared to her cousin was nothing new. Usually Kagome would just roll her eyes and brush it off. Okay, not really. But she did try. It infuriated her that her cousin was so near perfect, but over the years she would learn to take deep breaths and remind herself of her own strengths. It was something her mother taught her to do. Knowing that her own mother had always felt that she was never as good as her twin sister helped. After all, her mother was wonderful and her aunt was... well... a bit intimidating. She wouldn't trade her. So maybe perfect wasn't... perfect. But still, it was irksome all the same when someone would point out that she was lacking what her cousin apparently had in abundance. Like skill, looks, power, brains… sadly the list went on.

"Ahhh..." the man said smoothly, "But you have fire within your soul. Warmth..."

This time he did take a step forward towards her, and Inuyasha was quick to block. "Stay where you are, old man."

"Old? Are you referring to me, pup?" He smiled in a way that had Kagome's stomach in knots. Then he opened the door with one hand and made a courtly bow to Kagome to go through. "Perhaps we should take this into a more comfortable setting. My office?"

Before Inuyasha could tell him just what he could do with his idea, Kagome darted around him and said "Yes!" She kept her eyes on the man. "Inuyasha and I would be happy to go to your office. Do you have something we could eat? Maybe a soda? Sitting in an actual chair sounds like heaven to me!"

It was pretty obvious that Inuyasha didn't like Kagome pulling him towards the exit. Not in words, but in body language. And snarling.

"Just go," she hissed quietly, noticing how tightly he held on to the doorknob once she managed to get him as far as the door, "And don't look back."

Kagome didn't breathe a sigh of relief until they were behind the closed door. The man had been so focused on her that he hadn't seemed to notice the others. Luckily they hadn't spoken and had been standing still just inside the little room. Prepared for battle, yes, but hopefully virtually invisible from where the man had been standing. He couldn't have missed Shippo or the flowers, but maybe he didn't consider the little fox demon and a bunch of flowers a threat. A tickle on her wrist let her know that one of the flowers, most likely Joi, had hitched a ride.

The plan was to memorize the route from his office back to the submarine, but there were so many twists and turns that Kagome was completely turned around. She looked up at Inuyasha, praying that he had been paying better attention to their route, but he only had eyes for the back of their 'host's' head. Her heart was pounding hard, and she worried that she was going to turn into a cheesy romance heroine and faint. She hoped not. Likely Inuyasha would never let her forget it. Or worse, go into super protective mode every time she made a gasp.

"S o... um..." Kagome tried to look sound conversational, like she didn't feel like a mouse in a serpents den. "So, it isn't breaking any rules or anything coming here, is it?"

The man turned and gave her a smile that made her skin itch. Then he walked forward to elevator doors, then ushered them in. She had never been phobic of elevators until just that moment. Such a tiny box… they would have to be so close together… No escape. Inuyasha continued to glare and the man continued to smile at her. She was really regretting her decision to follow him instead of battle it out. The possibility of alarms being sounded and having a building full of security come crashing down on their heads seemed to be the better choice after all. The elevator ride was uncomfortable, but luckily short and uneventful. The doors opened into a large waiting room with a single door just past a lady sitting at a desk. He opened the door and walked in. Inuyasha started to follow, but stopped short, causing Kagome to walk into the back of him.

"Sesshomaru?"

Kagome peeked behind her friend and sure enough, there was his brother (half brother, she amended), looking even colder and icier than ever. The two may look very much alike, both taking after their father, but their personalities were polar opposites. While Inuyasha was full of passion and fire (she blushed and touched her lips at the thought), his brother was aloof and cold. Of course, Sesshomaru was brought up by his mother, and was used to wealth and power. He had everything a person could desire, except for love. Kagome had always felt a little sorry for him. He may have had a lot of things in his life, but he wasn't raised loved and cherished like she was. Inuyasha, who had lost both of his parents at an early age, had no sympathy for him since he spent most of his childhood bouncing between foster care and living on the streets. Sesshomaru hated Inuyasha for having their father's love, and Inuyasha hated Sesshomaru or having every comfort in life while he struggled every day. Considering the two had never been close, Sesshomaru seemed like an odd choice of savior.

Sesshomaru gave Kagome a look that was so hostile (okay, guess he wasn't there to save them after all) that she was surprised it didn't drop her on the spot. What did she ever do to him?

"This is not Rin."

"Who's Rin?" whispered Inuyasha, speaking for the first time since they entered the building.

"Your niece, you idiot."

"You have taken the child. I will have her back. Now." His voice didn't rise, but Kagome heard the promise of death in his voice and felt a moment of panic, even if it wasn't directed at her. This really was a colossally bad idea.

The man was either very brave or very stupid, because he ignored Sesshomaru as if he wasn't even there and sat at his desk and motioned for Kagome to sit. "Have a seat, Miss Higurashi."

The only available seat was beside Sesshomaru, and she wasn't sure she wanted to sit that close to him when he was in a killing mood. Not to mention the fact that he was clean and crisp with a pristine appearance and she... well, to be honest, smelled badly and was filthy from the fighting and falling and no decent bathing facilities or a scrubby brush and shampoo. Not even a little bottle of hand sanitizer. Sigh, she missed shampoo. But their host did not seem to be inclined to continue on with anything until she sat, so she did.

"You are a lovely young lady," he started off. "Quite brave and resourceful. To have made it this far speaks greatly of your resilience. And the fire you possess... it is strong. Perhaps even stronger than dear Kikyo's."

"Who are you?" demanded Inuyasha, his hand moved to Kagome's shoulder.

"It was your cousin who was supposed to have joined us on the island. It was your cousin I wanted. Your cousin I loved." He studied Kagome, then smiled at her again. "But you are almost a copy of her. It would not be difficult to learn to love you."

"Whaaa?"

"YOU TOUCH HER AND I'LL KILL YOU!"

"Enough of this nonsense! Bring me Rin."

Kagome jumped to her feet, not complaining one bit when Inuyasha shoved her behind him. She backed towards the door when Sesshomaru stood and drew his sword. A sword! Who carried around a sword with them?

The man, however, didn't even seem to notice. He just smiled at her.

"I had thought to use you to lure Kikyo to this island. Surely when she heard that her dear young cousin had been stolen here that she would come to your rescue. A powerful miko as her would have little problems surviving the demons. I was not expecting your friends. Nor did I expect that they should bring in so many to fight for their release. The demon slayer's younger brother Kohaku, the monk's demon friend Hachi, the dog demon's brother. Even the wolf demon clan has rebelled, demanding their 'sister'. Yet, no Kikyo."

"What have you done?" gasped Kagome.

The man stood. "Your friends will need to be fast if they think to save their loved ones. There is a special feature tonight on 'Last One Standing', you see. A death match. Only one of you will leave alive. The winner of the match determines who shall survive. If Kohaku wins, he will be reunited with his sister. If Hachi wins, the monk will be returned to him. If the wolf prince Kouga wins..."

"He will NOT get Kagome!" Inuyasha snarled. Kagome held herself closer to him. Did Naraku see Sango and Miroku after all? Did she leave her friends to fall prey to a trap?

"No. Kagome will not be the demon's. They will be informed that she has perished by your hands, and we shall deliver you to them for vengeance."

"If... if Sesshomaru wins?" asked Kagome.

The elder of the brothers gave her a scornful look. "Ahhh, I am afraid that Sesshomaru will not be participating. When others started arriving, we thought we would negate the biggest threat."

"You kidnapped Rin... So Sesshomaru wouldn't fight."

The man smiled at her warmly. "You are intelligent too. Yes, his adopted daughter will remain safe so long as he does as he is told. If he so much as threatens me," he glanced meaningfully at the sword, which lowered slowly, "Then the girl dies. Painfully."

Sesshomaru's jaw clenched, then he sat back down as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"What kind of monster are you?"

"Why, my dear girl, I am Naraku."

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

"Good thing Inuyasha broke the lock on that door. You don't think he was smart enough to do it on purpose do you?"

"Quiet, Shippo," hissed Sango, "Or you will have to wait back at the submarine with the flower demons."

Shippo's eyes opened wide, hurt. "But I can help find Kagome." He pointed to his nose. "I can smell real good, like Inuyasha. I can help track her."

"Then do so silently," warned Miroku. "Or we will be found before we can find our friends."

Miroku would have liked to leave the young fox kit someplace safe. But he worried that the guards would regain consciousness before they could find and rescue their friends. Not to mention find someone who knows how to operate a submarine. He was a learned man, but had no idea how to drive something like that. Perhaps given a manual, a cup of something strong, and a few days he could teach himself, but there really was no time for that just now.

They followed Shippo up an empty hall, then took a right, another right, a left, and another right before Shippo turned back to them with huge green watery eyes.

"I can't smell a thing in this place!"

Miroku tried to hold on to his temper so that he did not hit the fox demon on the head. He was about to lose his battle with his temper when Sango pulled him into a dark corner and pressed close to him. Everything else was blotted out his mind.

How is it that someone who had been fighting for days on end in that leather demon slayer's outfit could still look and smell so good? His eyes half closed as he leaned in for a kiss... only to have his lips touch the cold wall. Somehow Sango had slipped away from him and was pinning him into the corner. Very interested, he let her.

Two heartbeats later he saw a couple of people walking by, and realized that she was just hiding them. He didn't bother hiding his sigh of disappointment.

"It's not worth it," Sango hissed to herself. "Just let it go..."

Miroku was a little amused. It was rare when Sango would lose her cool. But at that moment, her cheeks were flushed and her fists were clenched. Curiously, he followed her gaze and saw a couple of workers walking down the hall, one was carrying a box of donuts. He couldn't help but grin when she said a most uncharacteristic curse word, then started to slink off after the person carrying the donuts.

"Where are we going?" whispered Shippo.

"Shhhhh."

"Every day..." mumbled Sango as she glared at the box, "Every single day..."

"Aren't we supposed to be finding Inuyasha and Kagome?" Shippo scurried up onto Miroku's shoulder.

Miroku shrugged. "How do we know they are not in this direction? Now hush."

"Every single blasted day..."

The donut people stopped outside of a room, talked to the guards there, then went inside only to leave again after just a few moments. Sango walked up to the guards as if she owned the place. Miroku saw the moment they recognized her. The guards didn't immediately call for back up. In fact, they were irritatingly happy to see the slayer and greeted her by name. Miroku frowned at one of the men who was starting to flirt with her. What was worse was how Sango giggled and fluttered her eyelashes at them. Fluttering eyelashes! HIS Sango!

WHAP!

WHAP!

"Miroku!"

The monk looked down at the now unconscious men without a trace of repentance. Sango had flirted with them! She let them flirt with her! She never let him get away with flirting with her without getting a palm print on his face! He struggled to keep his face calm and to keep himself from administering more punishment on the guards.

"That looked like it hurt," commented Shippo from Miroku's shoulder. "Think they're dead?"

Just barely was he able to refrain from saying that he hoped so. He took a deep cleansing breath to get rid of the anger. It didn't work so well.

"I was trying to get us in there without a fight," Sango said, surprisingly with a little humor. Something Miroku felt he was lacking at just that moment. "They were going to just let me walk right on in. I worked with these guys before."

"Yes," Miroku said tightly, "They did seem familiar with you." Overly so.

Sango's eyes narrowed and looked like she was about to slap him for the tone in his voice. Then her eyes widened and she actually chuckled as she turned her head and grinned. Was his jealousy that obvious? Or amusing? Instead of scolding him or slapping him, Sango opened up the door they were guarding and slipped inside. Miroku couldn't help the shiver of fear up his spine when she cracked her knuckles and nearly growled.

"It is time to pay."

There were a thousand cables strung along the floor and the ceiling. Everything was dark, except for one bright spot near the end of the room. He stopped when he recognized the voice.

"That's right, folks! We are down to two contenders! Will they fight it out? Or just try to outlast the other. Higurashi has disappeared. Has she met a grizzly end? Does that mean we already have a winner? Only way to find out is to stay tuned! And don't forget, dear audience, that tonight we have an extra special show with brand new guests competing for the prize of seeing their loved ones one last ti... Sango?"

His beloved Sango picked up the box of donuts that were brought in, and apparently put on a table next to some bottles of water in a metal bowl of ice, and opened it. Making a big show of smelling it and choosing, she finally picked up a chocolate one with sprinkles.

"Er... One last… time. They'll fight to the death. In the arena now we have... gah!"

Miroku watched as Sango took a big bite out a donut, then spit it out onto the floor, and tossed the donut over her shoulder and began choosing another one. The announcer was going red and looked like she may be having trouble breathing. The cameraman had turned around to watch them, but he didn't seem inclined to make them stop. He simply crossed his arms, leaned back, and watched.

The announcer was cute with her little cat ears. It disturbed him slightly that he couldn't feel a thing for the woman. Not even a little. It was Sango who had all of his attention. He sighed, obviously he was ruined for other women. The announcer made strangled sounds as the woman he loved began slowly destroying another donut, just pulling it apart and dropping it on the floor in teeny tiny pieces. Then she tossed one to Shippo before upending the box, holding one last donut dangling from her fingers.

"THAT DOES IT!" The cat ears nearly flew off the announcer as she launched herself at Sango. "THOSE ARE MINE!"

"You tormented every. Single. Day!" yelled Sango as she stepped to the side, extended her arm, and caught the flying announcer in the belly before she could hit the floor. The breath was knocked out of the cat eared girl by her own momentum. But not for long.

"You stole my donuts! My favorite ones!"

"You are insane! You poisoned my plants!"

"Chocolate was MINE!"

"You put a hole in my boat! You almost killed a dozen of us when we sank!"

"Stop moving and let me hit you!"

"You told the demons where to find me when I was supposed to be hunting them!"

"Thief!"

"You told my supervisor that I was sleeping with her husband! She came at me with a shotgun!"

Miroku found the fight extremely fascinating, and vowed to ask more questions about the shotgun incident. He moved off to the side so that he wouldn't be hit by flying debris. He found himself standing next to the other occupant of the room. At first he wanted to make sure that the man didn't try to get the jump on Sango, since she seemed a little preoccupied at the moment. But then he realized that the cameraman seemed to be getting great joy out of the exchange.

"Who you bettin' on?"

"Sango, of course," replied Miroku.

The man nodded, then reached down and picked up his bottle of water. "Want one?"

"Yes, please."

"Assault! Assault! Are you getting this on tape, Ed? I'm going to sue you for every bruise! I've got proof!" She pointed at Ed and the camera.

"Sorry, technical difficulties." He chuckled as Sango tripped the girl in mid run and she fell head over heels, knocking over a small table and a couple of chairs. That would leave a bruise.

"Really?" asked Miroku.

"Nah."

They continued to watch the fight. His stomach rumbled and protested the waste of food, but that was promptly forgotten as soon as Sango kicked one of the legs off of the table and sent the bowl of ice (and bottles of water) skittering across the floor in front of the path of her opponent. It was a little like watching a slapstick comedy as the perky announcer began slipping and sliding across the floor until she fell with little grace, and a great many swear words.

"Camera works after all…" chuckled Ed, who whispered that this would go viral on the Internet soon.

Miroku was impressed with Ed's deviousness, but mostly with the restraint Sango was practicing in the fight. She was a demon slayer. She could bring down a dozen demons armed with a butter knife, yet she wasn't landing a blow on the other girl. Not one. She was simply either letting her fall into things (like a desk or her outstretched arm), but she wasn't throwing a single punch. It was almost like she was playing a game of cat and mouse. Playing with the prey.

"Mortal enemies, I assume?"

The cameraman, Miroku recalled the woman calling him Ed, shrugged. "Koto is slightly insane. She got the job because a lot of the guys like the ears. And she likes to purr a lot on camera. Gets the ratings, y'know. But she's a bit of a fruitcake." He paused for a moment, then amended, "Evil fruitcake."

"The ears are rather nice. Do you happen to know how to pilot a submarine?"

Ed chuckled as he dodged a flying trashcan. "Found the sub, did you? No one knows how to pilot that thing. It ain't a regular submarine. It's all done by remote. It has two destinations, here and the island. The main island. From there we got ships and planes that go all over the place. Real touristy place."

"By remote, you say?"

"It follows a sort of a line, like one of those trolley cars. Easiest thing in the world, kids play really. You get in, press the button on the control panel, and off you go. Monkeys could fly it. You're only in trouble if you have to go manual. But with all the enchantments on that thing to get through the barrier, that ain't real likely. Thinking of escape?"

"Are you thinking of stopping us?" The question was simply that. A question, not an accusation.

"Nah. But you can't leave just yet anyhow."

"Oh?" Miroku paused to watch Koto drenched in ice water, panting, and growling as she tried to catch her breath. He admired how cool and collected Sango was, looking bored almost. He had never seen that smirk on her face before. It was... unforgettable.

"Gotta save your friends don't you?"

Miroku followed Ed's gaze to the screen. There was a fight going on. The first person he recognized was Sango's little brother, for his outfit was made in a similar fashion to hers. Then he saw his friend Hachi running for a place to hide. Hachi? Here? What in the world…? The wolf demon Kouga was there as well. They were in a giant arena that seemed filled with dozens of demons. All with razor sharp claws or fangs. All menacing. All deadly.

"Sango..."

"Just a moment, Miroku, I'm a little busy."

"Sango..."

"In a minute."

"Sango!"

"WHAT?

Her eyes widened as she looked at where he was pointing. She dropped the remainder of the donut she had been squashing. She whispered her little brother's name. Then she picked up Koto and shook her like a rag doll.

"Where are they?" Sango demanded.

"I hope he's the first to fall," spat Koto.

Sango threw the girl. Miroku winced as she hit the screen and landed in a slump on the floor. Fire filled Sango's eyes as she turned to the cameraman. He immediately held up his hands in defeat and gave quick directions. He even wished them luck as he began packing up camera equipment.

They ran.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

He ran.

Somehow, in the blink of an eye, Naraku had _swallowed_ up Kagome. He had never seen a creature change shapes so quickly. He hated himself for not being fast enough to stop her from being taken. He hated his brother for not lifting a finger to help. Right now he had no choice but to fight. Naraku had vanished with Kagome, only his words were still there. And those words haunted him as he ran towards the arena.

"The only way to get her back is to fight. And win."

So he would fight. And he would win.

He would be the last one standing.

And when he had Kagome safely back, Naraku would join the dead at his feet.

Disclaimer Part II:

Koto also happens to be the name of the announcer from _Yu Yu Hakusho_ who happens to have cat (some say fox) ears. Not that the character in this story is the same person, but just in case, I'm going to go ahead and disclaim her too. Better safe than sorry

Author's Note:

Thanks to all those who have reviewed. I know that the chapters come slow, but that just can't be helped for right now. The stories WILL all be finished though, just not as quickly as I'd like.


	16. Fight! Fight! Fight!

Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me Ed (the cameraman) and the flower demons are mine too. Koto also happens to be the name of the announcer from _Yu Yu Hakusho_ who happens to have cat (some say fox, sorry if you disagree, but the argument is still out there with proof for both) ears. Not that the character in this story is the same person, but just in case, I'm going to go ahead and disclaim her too. Better safe than sorry.

Chapter Sixteen: Fight! Fight! Fight!

"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we are honored to bring you a special event on "The Last One Standing". While we wait for the last two contestants to find each other to determine the winner of this season's show, we have new contestants for an impromptu battle royale. The rules are simple. The last one standing alive wins. And it isn't just any prize that these new contestants are fighting for. No, each contestant has chosen a loved one to share their fate. Only the winner will be leaving the ring to claim their reward."

Inuyasha's blood boiled at the sound of Naraku's voice. He still couldn't shake the image of how the man's body had somehow... changed... into some sort of blobbish monstrosity. The blob had surrounded Kagome and pulled her in, swallowing her as they rose from the ground before he had been able to reach her.

He had failed Kagome.

His hands gripped the metal bars of his waiting area so tightly that they bent. He should have been bothered by the obvious barrier around the arena that would trap him and the other fighters in. But he didn't care. Soon the fight would begin and the bars would raise and drop the barrier just enough for the fighters to enter before locking them in again. All he had to do was kill every living being in the ring then claim Kagome. Closing his eyes he pictured Kagome's face. She may hate him forever for what he was about to do, but he couldn't just let Naraku have her. If he could have, he would have followed her scent to wherever that demon (he had to be one) had flown off with his Kagome. But there was no trace of her scent. It was as if she had simply disappeared. The thought left a lump in his throat. He couldn't bear to think about her being gone. The only thing keeping him from keeping the demon in him at bay and going absolutely insane was the hope that Kagome was waiting for him.

There was a soft sound behind him. Then a clink.

Inuyasha whirled around to see Sesshomaru walking away. The coward had done nothing when Kagome was taken! Nothing!

Then he noticed the sword.

"The blade is yours, Inuyasha. It always has been. Father meant it to belong to you." Sesshomaru turned around for a moment to give his half brother an icy glare. "Win this battle quickly, little brother," he said. "The moment Rin is found, this building will fall."

Inuyasha nodded and watched his brother walk away. He recognized that tone. The building wouldn't just fall, it would be a pile of pebbles. Pebbles on fire. With charcoal briquette bodies all over the place. Sesshomaru never did take kindly to anyone crossing him. Going after his kid really wasn't smart. That meant that he had to win this battle FAST. And find Kagome. Once his brother started tearing this place down it would be a lot harder to track down Naraku to rip out his throat.

"Wait for me, Kagome."

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

"I swear! You just LIVE to mess up my life!"

"One more word and I will hit you in the face and break that cheap discount plastic nose."

There was a high pitched feminine screech that had everyone within earshot cringing. "It was NOT discount!"

Miroku let Sango lead the way. He was always more than happy to follow her, especially when she wears that demon slayer outfit of hers. Best view in the world! Shippo had chosen to ride on his shoulder, he was slightly afraid to get too close to Sango since she was very close to exploding. It was a good choice since Sango stopped suddenly and spun around, her fist swinging towards Koto's face. Obviously Sango missed on purpose, she had only wanted to scare the obnoxious, though admittedly very pretty (he might be madly in love with Sango, but he was not blind man) announcer.

Ed, it seemed, was quite happy to film the unflattering show of terror and her Koto's than graceful fall to the ground. She swore at the cameraman in very unladylike language to stop filming or she would do some very serious injury to certain parts of his person. Ed, however, did not seem to be worried. It was assumed that when the cameraman had been furiously packing, that he would be escaping. It was only logical. However, apparently he was not planning to miss an opportunity to take his job on the road, so to speak. Miroku had mentioned to him the problem they had with finding someone to pilot the craft they found, and was eternally grateful that the cameraman seemed to have many friends, and one of them was the craft's pilot. Protect him from Koto and any other dangers that may present themselves, and he would make sure they found themselves on their way home in a 'borrowed' submarine.

Luck was on their side.

With the hand that was not effortlessly carrying her enormous weapon (he admired a strong woman), she picked Koto up by the front of her shirt (giving the audience some very interesting footage of glimpses of Koto never before seen... on television) and slammed her against the wall (he very MUCH admired a strong woman).

"Now listen to me you backstabbing (Miroku was almost certain the next word would be bleeped by censors, why they chose to bleep out swear words, but let them see a person being eviscerated on live television was something he would never understand) BLEEP (yes, it was indeed bleeped). If you don't stop bleating like sheep and start pointing out the way to where my BABY BROTHER is facing DEATH, then I will skin you alive and roast you over a spit like a slaughtered lamb!" (She had a most wonderful way with words. It was part of her charm.)

With wide eyes, Koto nodded slowly (it was a little unclear to what she was agreeing to) and pointed down the hall with a shaky finger. Sango opened her hand and let the other woman fall. Ah, the fire in her eyes was hot enough to scorch walls.

"She's scary," Shippo whispered nervously in Miroku's ear as they stormed in the direction the announcer had pointed.

"She is amazing."

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Ew ew ew ew ew!

Was she just eaten?

EW!

It was slimy!

And icky!

What happened to Inuyasha?

Was he okay?

Why was it so dark?

Was she dead?

Was she in a stomach?

Wait... She was swallowed!

SWALLOWED!

WAS SHE GOING TO BE EATEN ALIVE BY STOMACH ACID?

Was she going to suffocate before the acid started eating away at her?

She was never going to be able to wash the smell of THIS out of her hair.

INUYASHA!

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

"Of course," sighed Inuyasha as he saw Shippo, Sango, and Miroku enter the battle arena. Things were never easy.

How was he going to kill his friends to win back Kagome? It wouldn't have bothered him all that much to kill Kouga or even the other convicted felons who had been chosen for the show. Though there was only one left... where was he anyhow? Inuyasha surveyed the nearly empty arena, his friends and Kouga were all waiting near their little barred cubby holes like he was. This was insane! Kagome would never forgive him if he killed Sango or Miroku. And she'd grown fond of the little fox kit too. She'd get over Kouga though, he was sure of it.

What was that?

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at a cage being rattled high above the arena. There were people inside of it. Ah, the 'prizes'. One whiff told him there was no Kagome inside, though there were other familiar scents. Was that Kohaku? Yeah, Sango wouldn't be pulling any punches. What they needed was a plan to escape and rescue Kagome. But with no trace of her, they didn't even have a direction to start! And with Kagome being held hostage, their only choice was to fight. Wasn't it?

Arg! Why wasn't he better any at strategy?

"Your prize awaits, contestants. BEGIN!"

The only contestant who leapt from their cubby when the bars were raised was Kouga. He looked like an idiot roaring for a fight all by himself. Inuyasha rolled his eyes at the wolf prince. Sango walked out confidently with her weapon at the ready. Her eyes scanned the area, settling briefly on her brother before studying her opponents. Miroku took one step out and waved jauntily to the crowd, in the cubby he stepped from was a man with a camera that he'd never seen, and a screaming female who looked vaguely familiar. They better not be new additions to their group.

Inuyasha looked around to the seats outside the coliseum, and was a bit surprised to find all the seats were empty. Instead, there was a blue screen surrounding the arena. There was a giant monitor on both sides of the arena. The cameras scanned the fighters, then showed screaming fans on screen. Inuyasha looked back to the empty seats. Guess they used some of that technology magic to make a crowd of people appear to be there. It made sense, how would they ship so many innocent people in anyhow? They'd get killed or eaten just trying to get here. He glanced back at Miroku, who was playing up to the non-existent crowd. Then he gave a bow and blew a kiss. Inuyasha looked closer. Sure enough, there was a glassed in area with a few rows of seats. Those had real people in them. Probably some sick twisted rich people who thought watching people kill themselves were fun.

Naraku was not one with them.

As soon as Kouga saw Inuyasha, he attacked. "You're dead puppy! I'm going to kill you!"

Inuyasha leapt backwards to avoid the blow, not bothering to parry with his blade. "Stupid flea bitten wolf." It wasn't the wittiest of comebacks, he had too many things to think about. "But you're welcome to try."

If the wolf demon wanted to fight, he'd give him a fight. He tucked the sword away and swiped at the wolf on his next pass with his claws. Kouga kicked and Inuyasha dodged, sending his fist towards the wolf demon's chin. The impact drove Kouga back, but only temporarily. After wiping at the blood on his lip, the wolf demon charged again. He leaps into the air, and Inuyasha leaps up to meet him with fists ready. Both land a blow and are knocked backwards.

Inuyasha spares a moment to glance around the arena. He watched as Sango threw her bone boomerang at the chains holding the cage, but there was a barrier surrounding it. Just great. Miroku seemed to be praying, hopefully working on some counter spell.

A roar brought Inuyasha's attention back to Kouga. He would have to leave freeing the captives to Sango and Miroku. Paying attention to what his friends were doing had distracted him, causing his reflexes to be too slow. A kick landed in his middle, knocking the breath from him. It was a good thing he hadn't been caught completely off guard, or that kick would have broken his ribs.

"Kagome will be mine!" spat the wolf prince.

Inuyasha's snarl was all he got in response. In a heartbeat the dog demon went from defending, to outright aggression. In a flurry of claws and fists, Inuyasha flew at Kouga. How DARE he suggest Kagome would be his! His brain filled with white heat, and fire burned in his blood as his anger went out of control. When he finally gained control of himself he found himself standing over the very still body of the wolf prince. For a moment Inuyasha felt the thrill of triumph, but that soon faded and he bent to check for a pulse. It was there. Feh, the wolf was too stupid to die.

"Thanks for getting rid of him for me," said a cold voice. "Now it's your turn."

Inuyasha looked up and nearly staggered.

"Sango?"

Sure enough, Sango was standing before him with her weapon, looking very much like a goddess of battle that Miroku would often call her when he'd see her doing her job. Inuyasha had never really paid much attention to her before, and now was kind of wishing that he had. "You are my friend, Inuyasha... but Kohaku is my brother. I must save him, no matter what."

Inuyasha nodded as he pulled out his blade. He hadn't needed it for the wimpy wolf, but he had a feeling he would be dead without it facing Sango.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

"Ouch!"

Kagome cried out in pain as a line of red appeared on her arm. It felt like she had been struck with a whip. The angry welt burned as in on fire. Joi. She narrowed her eyes and prepared to scold the flower demon, then took a breath to calm herself.

"Thank you," she told her new friend before blowing on the injury. Without that sharp reminder, who knows how long Kagome might have been stuck in her cocoon of panic. "We need to find a way out of here."

She tried to walk, but that proved to be impossible. There was no way to get any traction. Oddly enough if felt as if she were suspended in midair. Feeling slightly foolish, Kagome put her arms in front of her and tried swimming through her prison. That didn't work either.

Puffing out a breath, she asked, "You have any ideas?"

Images of Naraku getting strangled popped in her head as Joi spoke to her in her own unique way.

"Yes, well, that will have to wait until we get out of here." She looked around at her surroundings. "Wherever 'here' is." She poked at an odd blob floating next to her. Really... she didn't want to know what it was. Really. "If only I had some sort of..." She hit her forehead with the heel of her hand, then grimaced when she looked down at the flower demon that was slowly crawling up her arm. "Weapon... I can't believe I didn't even think of my bow."

Somewhere inside her there was a kind of magic that seemed to burn through evil. Maybe when she got out of this and back home she'd ask her mom if perhaps they had been hiding anything from her. Maybe have a little 'chat' with her cousin Kikyo about the company she kept. Inhaling deeply and pushing all other thoughts aside, Kagome tried to find the magic inside herself. The hair from the nape of her neck began to rise as power filled her. Reaching for her bow she opened her eyes and looked for a potential weak spot. One area in particular seemed to almost shine. Filling an arrow with all the energy she possessed she took aim.

And fired.

A blaze of pink fire slashed across her vision as it tore through her prison walls. She barely had time to squeak when gravity suddenly pulled her down. Covering her head she prepared to crash into the tile floor. A sharp pain in her ankle was followed quickly by searing pain in her spine as she was jerked to a halt inches above the floor. Hanging upside down by one foot (and glad no one was here to see it), Kagome felt like a trophy fish. When she started spinning slowly, she put her hands down on the floor to steady herself. She was grateful for the demon's quick reflexes. From her upside down position Kagome noticed that one vine had wrapped around her ankle and the other to rafters in the ceiling. She could have sworn that Joi was laughing at her as she was gently lowered to the floor. Rolling to her back, the tired girl looked up to see something that looked creepily like a giant spider web, complete with a cocoon of wrapped webs with a hole burned out of it.

After brushing as much of the goo and sticky webbing off of as she could, Kagome made her way to the door of the room she was in. Odd that there was no Naraku. She didn't really want to think about how she went from being inside of him to being in a big wad of whatever that stuff was. That was information she could live her life happily without.

She put her ear to the door, but heard nothing. Slowly she opened it and peeked out. Nothing.

"Let's find Inuyasha," she whispered.

In the distance she heard Naraku's voice and shivered. Then she heard him say Inuyasha's name. Was he playing the part of announcer? Inuyasha was fighting? Wait, did he just say that Inuyasha was fighting SANGO? That made no sense!

"Well," she said to her companion as the demon weaved into her disaster area hair, "At least things can't get worse."

Bow in hand she began her search for the arena.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Kagome?

In mid battle one of the big screens on the outside of the arena switched to a picture of Kagome walking down a hallway. The relief Inuyasha felt at seeing her unharmed caused him to not see the blow coming and he found himself several yards away with a fierce pain in his middle. But that was okay. Everything was okay with Kagome safe. Then he saw something behind her.

"KAGOME!"

Sango caught her boomerang as it returned to her and turned towards the screen. Her cry for her friend couldn't be heard over the screams of the terrified dog demon.

"BEHIND YOU!"

But she couldn't hear him. Inuyasha could only watch in horror as the last remaining contestant was sneaking up behind her with an ax slowly rising.

"KAGOOOOMEEEE!"

Inuyasha leapt towards the screen, but was bounced off by the barrier surrounding the arena. Screaming and clawing, he continued to try to get through the barrier. The cage from the ceiling fell when he rammed into the barrier and Sango left to reunite with her brother. But he didn't care what happened to Sango, Miroku, or anything else in the world. The only thing that mattered was Kagome. She was in danger! She needed him.

The ax came down and his beloved fell.

Everything around him turned red.

Author's Note: Yes, I know I know. It took a long time to update, you don't have to remind me. I have a good excuse though... Someone has STOLEN my writing time! If you find the thief, let me know so I can bring him/her/it to justice! Luckily I've been able to find pieces here and there to finally get this chapter out.


	17. The Last One Falls

Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me Ed (the cameraman) and the flower demons are mine too. Koto also happens to be the name of the announcer from _Yu Yu Hakusho_ who happens to have cat (some say fox, sorry if you disagree, but the argument is still out there with proof for both) ears. Not that the character in this story is the same person, but just in case, I'm going to go ahead and disclaim her too. Better safe than sorry.

Chapter Seventeen: The Last One Falls

The loss of Kagome was more than the dog demon could bear. What little bit of humanity left in him was gone now that his reason for keeping the demon blood inside of himself under control was dead. They took his Kagome. They killed his mate. There was no more reason to live.

But before he died... he was taking every last one of them with him.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Kagome let out a squeal as she tripped and her bow skittered across the floor. Vines had tangled her ankles together. She screamed when she felt the ax slice close enough to her head that she could feel the air move, a tuft of her hair floated to the ground. Trying to scramble to her feet, Kagome stumbled and slipped. The ax came down again and she rolled out of the way. Finally she was able to find her feet and stand. She tried to run, vines dropping away as she scrambled to get away. It took her a moment to realize that the crazy man trying to kill her was the last contestant.

"Hold still, girlie," the man said in a gravelly voice, "It won't hurt much if you hold still."

"Look, you can have the prize... I just wan..."

"Sorry, kid." The ax sliced towards her again, but not quite fast enough. She hissed in pain as the ax sliced her arm. "But rules are rules. You gotta die."

"I won't tell anyone," she tried to say pleasantly, though not having much luck. Her voice squeaked and shook. Blinking back tears, she did not take her eyes off of the man in front of her. Her uninjured hand held on to her bleeding arm. She flexed her fingers, thankful that they all seemed to work. It was lucky that the ax had grazed her instead of cutting to the bone, though the sight of her own blood was making her queasy. Her heart thundered in her chest and she wiped her hand on her skirt. Desperately she tried to dry her hand so that she would be able to hold her weapon. "Just let me go and you can claim the prize. Just pretend you never saw me!" She jumped away again, trying to see where she had dropped her bow and work her way back to it.

"You think I'm stupid?" he yelled. She assumed he didn't want her to answer truthfully, so she kept her mouth shut. "They got cameras on us all the time. All." Swing. "The." Swing. "Time!" Swing.

Seeing an opening after the ax passed, Kagome dove for the bow and rolled to her feet with it tight in her fist. It was a bit surprising that the move had actually worked! She allowed herself that brief moment of triumph before sobering quickly. The problem with archery, she thought woefully, is that it wasn't meant to be a hand to hand combat weapon. It really worked best at a distance. She had to move too quickly to have the moment she needed to point and shoot. With luck her injury wouldn't keep her from pulling back the arrow. For about the millionth time since being dumped on this island, Kagome wished she had taken self-defense lessons.

It was almost a dance. She would back up a step and he would follow. She would dart to the side, and he would mirror her actions. All the while he would swing his ax with wild eyes... which were nearly as frightening to see as the weapon.

Her attacker tripped over Joi's vines, the ax flying out of his hands when he landed hard. Kagome jumped for it. He was fast getting back to his feet, but Kagome was faster getting to the weapon. It slipped in her hands and barely missed her toes. But she tightened her grip and backed up. Just as she began to lift the heavy ax, she noticed that Joi had not moved. Her heart stopped beating and she felt sick as she noticed one of Joi's vines hanging from the shoulder of the contestant.

No...

The flower demon... her friend... gone?

Not now... not when she was just getting her life back...

It wasn't fair!

He killed her!

Her aura whipped around her, sending her hair flying in all directions as she turned her eyes from Joi's body to the man who had struck her down. The ax in her hand splintered at the energy and magic surrounding the girl in a whirlwind.

Pain forgotten, she reached up and gently took the vine from the startled man's shoulder, cradling it in her hands. The last remaining contestant swallowed hard when she glared at him from underneath her bangs.

Her eyes...

...they were glowing.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Sango and Miroku worked on freeing the hostages and try to keep safe from a dog demon gone insane. In his fury he had sent Blades of Blood all around the arena. Some of those blades cut the chain on the cage and it fell to the ground. Everyone, including Sango and Miroku, were more afraid of the dog demon trapped with them, than they had been of Naraku.

The demon continued to scream out Kagome's name in anguish as he tried to rip his way through the barrier with blade and claws. It hurt to hear his screams.

Miroku led the captives to one corner of the arena. Quickly he started his chant to put up a barrier. They had to protect everyone until Inuyasha could calm down. When the spell was finished, Miroku looked up, and cried in anguish.

"Sango!"

"Sorry, monk," she said with a sad smile. "But I have to protect my brother... and you."

"Sango! No!" Miroku wanted to bring down the barrier and force Sango inside, but before he could break the spell he saw the scared hostages. He grit his teeth. "Be careful," he demanded.

She gave him a cheeky grin, then turned to take her place in front of the barrier.

Inuyasha rammed his body against the invisible barrier keeping him from his revenge. Sango's heart broke for him as he screamed Kagome's name. She blinked back the sting of tears. When everyone was safe and off this horrible island... then she would mourn her friend. But not now. Not when the others needed her to keep them safe.

"KAAAAGOOOOOOMEEEEEEE!"

Inuyasha let himself fall to the ground. His head dropped. For a moment Sango thought that the worst was over. Then Inuyasha threw his head back, his whole body arching as he screamed her name once more, as his soul was being ripped apart.

Then she noticed something odd.

His blade... it was changing colors! She grew up handling just about every type of weapon. And never... NEVER!... had she seen a blade change color that wasn't being forged. And this blade, it was glowing red! The air around them seemed to ripple. Sango stepped backwards until she could feel Miroku's barrier against the heel of her boot.

"On your toes, monk," she whispered.

"Be careful, Sango."

The dog demon roared, and attacked the barrier with his sword. Instead of bouncing off as it had been doing, this time it sliced through the barrier. Inuyasha continued to hack at the barrier, this time screaming Naraku's name.

Then it was over.

Inuyasha was gone.

"You take the others to the submarine," Sango said as she stared at the hole in the barrier. "I'll go after Inuyasha."

"WE will go after Inuyasha." Miroku turned to the little fox demon. "Shippo, lead the others to the craft."

"But..." the kitsune squeaked.

"Be brave, Shippo. Only you can lead the way."

The young demon stood up straight and nodded solemnly. "I won't fail!"

Shippo begins to gather up the others. Kohaku protests being separated from his sister, but she whispered to him that he must protect the others. Ed decided that although it was certain to be a cinematic coup to get the fight on camera, he much preferred being alive. Plus, he told them, if they didn't mind taking a short side trip, he knew where the pilot was likely hanging out. Shippo was certain they could 'convince' the pilot to join their cause. Hachi was ready to go, so ready to go that it looked suspiciously like he needed to use the restroom. Koto, however, bolts for the rip in the barrier. No one chases after her.

"What do we do about him?" asks Shippo as he nodded to the barely conscious wolf demon.

"Not our problem."

"Sango!" admonished Miroku.

"Well, he isn't!" She refused to cave under his disappointed look. "He can't come with us back home. He has a whole pack that needs him. When he comes to he will see the rip and will hopefully be smart enough to go back to his pack. If he's not... well then, he really probably shouldn't be their leader."

Miroku sighed. He scooted some debris into the crude shape of an arrow that pointed towards the rip in the barrier... just in case he wasn't smart enough to find it on his own.

Following Inuyasha's path would not be difficult. After all, all they had to do was follow the path of destruction.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

"Lord Sesshomaru!"

The golden eyes of the dog demon narrowed slightly at the rumpled state of the little girl locked in what appeared to be a cage. There were bruises on her arms and it looked like she might have a blackened eye.

"Stand back, Rin."

With a happy smile, the little girl obeyed. A roar ripped from his throat as he transformed into a giant white demon dog. Rin continued smiling, with no fear, as the dog demon destroyed her prison.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

The smell of Kagome's blood and tears overwhelmed him.

Gone!

GONE!

NOOOOOOOOooooooooo!

For a moment the scent was too powerful for him and it dropped him to his knees with a scream of agony as the ground beneath him moved.

When he got back up, he caught Naraku's scent. His heart cried out to him to go where the scent of Kagome's blood was. Where his life ended. But that would have to wait. Wait for me, Kagome.

"You better pray to your god, little man," he growled.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

"I got a bad feeling about this," said Sango as the building trembled. "Do I smell smoke?"

Miroku sniffed. "I do not smell anything. Are you sure... no wait... yes. I smell it as well." He smiled at her. "It seems that we have a new enemy in our midst."

"Oh?"

"Fire. Or at the very least, carbon monoxide poisoning."

"Thanks."

"Or combustion."

"Yes, thank you for that, Miroku. Well, with luck we will find Inuyasha, who may or may not kill us depending on how insane his demon blood and grief have driven him, before we are burned to a crisp, suffocated by carbon monoxide, or we blow up."

"Always thinking positive, my love."

Sango almost smiled as she started running the direction that Inuyasha had taken. She glanced back once, just to make sure that Miroku was still with her. Part of her wished that she had insisted that he stay behind to protect the others. But mostly she was glad that they would be together should things... end... badly.

"NAAARAKUUUU!"

They were close. And apparently Inuyasha had found Naraku.

Sango skidded to a halt when she turned the corner. Miroku, in turn, skidded into her. She wasn't totally convinced that it was an accident. There was no time to be irritated at the letch. The hallway was collapsed and they would have to find a way around it to get. Miroku put his hand on her arm as she turned to try to find another path.

"There is no time, Sango. We must try to go through."

"Are you crazy?"

He put his sleeve up to his nose. "The smoke is getting stronger. We need to go forward."

She wanted to argue, but there was another tremble in the building that sent shivers up her spine. Time was their enemy as much as Naraku was. Quickly she scanned the mess. Methodically she began testing pieces of fallen debris. She didn't want to make things worse. Though how that was possible she didn't know. After all, it couldn't possibly get any wor... no. Do NOT think that thought, she scolded herself.

At last she found an opening that was loose enough to be moved without bringing what was left of the ceiling down on them. Her palms began to sweat as she fought the need to hurry. Hurrying could have fatal results.

Inuyasha screamed again, and Miroku knocked Sango to the ground, covering her with his body.

Worrying about the blocked hallway was no longer an issue. Half of the debris was now flying down the hallway. The other half, Sango realized as she coughed to clear her lungs of the dust, was being kept off of her by Miroku. He had shielded her.

"Can... you... get out?" he gasps painfully.

Sango wiggled, then nodded when she saw an opening small enough for her body.

"Hurry."

"What about you?" she whispered.

"Just go."

His arms shook as Sango slowly crawled out of their prison. When she was safe, he let himself fall.

"MIROKU!" Frantically she pulled at the piece of wall that was covering him. When it refused to budge, she turned to Inuyasha for help. "Inuyasha! Help Miroku!" He didn't even glance in her direction. He was focused on trying to hit Naraku. She blinked in astonishment when she saw them. Naraku was... a spider? With tentacles? She had never seen anything like that. Ever! It was as if he was an amalgam of demons. But how is that possible?

Inuyasha struck again, and Sango put up her bone boomerang to protect herself and Miroku from the flying debris. When it was safe to do so, she threw the weapon at Naraku. He dodged the hit, but ended up being unable to block himself from Inuyasha's blow by doing so.

Quickly, Sango put on her mask to filter the dust and the smoke that was quickly filling the air. When the boomerang came back, she used it to carefully lever some of the debris away from Miroku. Piece by piece she would clear the area, occasionally turning to spin her boomerang through the air towards Naraku. When she had proved herself to be enough of a nuisance, one of those tentacles shot towards her. She dove to the side to evade it, and it hit the pile that she had been trying to clear. She winced as she heard Miroku groan. Before she could throw her boomerang again, her arms were plastered tight to her sides. It took a moment to realize that she had been captured by another of the tentacles. Her stomach turned as she was tossed up into the air, then thrown.

The breath was knocked from her body as she hit a wall. Before she could get her breath back, the tentacle wrapped around her ankle and pulled her up. She was thrown again. Sango couldn't help but scream in agony as she hit something hard. Then fell.

She hadn't realized she had passed out until she felt someone lightly tapping her cheeks. The darkness receded as she opened her eyes to a monk covered in dirt.

"There are other ways," Miroku scolded her gently, "Of clearing the debris than using your body as a battering ram."

She laughed. It hurt her ribs, but she couldn't help it. She kind of loved guy.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

He couldn't think beyond the need to destroy Naraku. He recognized the woman who was attempting to help him in battle, but her name slipped his memory. What did it matter? The only thing that mattered was destroying this monster.

"You are not alone!" the human male yelled to him.

Feh. It was a lie. He WAS alone. Without his mate he had nothing. He would always be alone until he could find her again in the afterlife.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Miroku and Sango spread out to help block the demon in. Inuyasha fought like a madman. A piece of ceiling fell, and all he did was dodge it. He didn't even look up to see the building filling with smoke and crumbling around them. Soon it would be too late. If Naraku didn't kill them, the fire and smoke certainly would. It was time to make a decision.

"You are weak, dog," Naraku laughs cruelly. "Kagome's soul is mine."

For a moment she was stunned by the claim. Hadn't he already been shown that mentioning the name 'Kagome' only fired Inuyasha's blood rage higher? It was asking for death to claim her as his own. Inuyasha roared his rage. When he swung his blade there seemed to be a funnel of wind appearing. She watched as Sango abandoned her position and ran for Miroku, knocking him to the ground to protect him. She wouldn't get to them in time to help protect them.

"KAZE NO KIZU!"

The funnel carried blades of wind and drew some of the fire and smoke with it. Cloth and tentacles ripped and tore, and still Naraku laughed. Then she took aim, and a shaft of bright pink light shot through the tunnel, and the world exploded into light.

Her cool hand reached down and touched Sango's head gently. The slayer looked up and gasped in surprise.

"Kagome!"

"What? You thought I'd lost to that creep? Thanks a lot for the vote of confidence!"

"Did you kill him?" asked Miroku in astonishment before coughing overtook him.

Kagome glanced away. "Um... no. But I did scare him so badly that he..."

The sentence was lost as Inuyasha grabbed her and pulled her roughly into his arms. She would never tell a soul that she felt him shudder, or that her neck was damp with his tears. She hugged him close with her good arm. Though she would love to stay in this position for eternity, they had to get moving.

"The building is collapsing, we have to go!"

Inuyasha scooped her up, eyes narrowing as he heard her gasp of pain. "You're hurt."

"We'll be dead if we don't move, Inuyasha."

He nodded, threw his robe over her to protect her from fire, then ran.

The path back down to where the submarine was blocked, but Inuyasha managed to clear a path quickly. Though Kagome insisted she could run on her own, he did not set her down for more time than it took to jump the others across the sections of floor that were missing. As they were about to take the final turn, they heard a woman's voice cry out for help.

"Your call," Inuyasha tells Sango as he kicks down another door.

"I'm going to regret this," she mumbled.

"Very likely," Miroku said in a voice a little too cheery for as dire of a situation that they were in. "But you will do it anyhow."

Koto was screaming at them now. Sango nodded at Inuyasha, and he kicked hole through the wall. Sango and Miroku carefully used the new passageway to collect the singed announcer. The woman was still crying as they stormed into the dock and ran down the plank where Shippo was jumping up and down in joy.

"You killed him?" asked Shippo as they closed and sealed the hatch.

Inuyasha paused. "Of course we did."

Kagome thought so too, hoped so. But there had been nothing left after her arrow hit him. Had he disintegrated like many of the demons hit with her purifying arrow? Even if he had survived, there was little chance he had escaped the burning building. She snuggled down into the robe.

Home. They were finally going home.

Kagome Higurashi was the last one standing.

Author's Note:

A lot of people have asked me if I got the idea for my story from Hunger Games. The answer to that is no. When I first started this story I hadn't even heard of the series. But since so many people have asked me if I used the story as the basis for MY story, I decided I wasn't going to so much as read the book cover until Last One Standing is done, which it will be after the epilogue next chapter. Then I'll read it.

Probably.


	18. Beginnings and Endings: The Epilogue

Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me Ed (the cameraman) and the flower demons are mine too. Koto also happens to be the name of the announcer from _Yu Yu Hakusho_ who happens to have cat (some say fox, sorry if you disagree, but the argument is still out there with proof for both) ears. Not that the character in this story is the same person, but just in case, I'm going to go ahead and disclaim her too. Better safe than sorry.

Chapter Eighteen: Endings and Beginnings

As the sun began to set, Kagome said a prayer for Joi as she placed the remainder of the flower demon into the shallow hole that would be her resting place.

Her family had been waiting for her on the beach near where they landed. Since there had been no dock, and they were unwilling to wait, they had climbed out of the submarine and swam to shore. Kagome was happy enough for that, since she and her friends were still covered in grime and blood.

In her joy at having her daughter safely returned, her mother had invited everyone to their home. The car had been packed and smelled dreadful after being cramped up with so many bodies that had seen so much battle. After the excited hugs and tears from her family when Kagome arrived home safe and sound, the tired and grimy girl excused herself.

It was wonderful being home, truly wonderful, but she needed to lay Joi to rest. So while her friends went inside to clean up, Kagome began to dig.

It seemed right to bury her in the earth near the God Tree. Kagome was sorry that she had not had the time to find Joi's family. Perhaps one day she would go back to the island and see if she could find them. Maybe let them know what had happened to the brave flower demon. Of course, that would be awhile. A long while.

"Kagome?"

She looked up at her friends that were there beside her for the somber occasion. Sango smiled gently at her, Miroku was at her side. It looked like just about everyone had come to say goodbye to Joi. Or at least pay their respects.

It was odd seeing them in clean clothes and washed hair. After being so filthy for so long, Kagome was certain she would become very compulsive about bathing and being clean.

Kouga and two of his clan came forward.

"I will always be here for you," the wolf prince said as he took her hands in his. "You will always be a part of my pack."

His two pack mates agreed.

"Er… Thanks…"

Stowing away on the submarine hadn't made anyone happy. Except for Kouga. The wolf prince had taken the opportunity to escape the island as well. Blind loyalties kept his two pack mates at his side, though they missed their home and the rest of their pack. Inuyasha had tried convincing them to go back, but Kouga wouldn't listen. This new world held too many exciting things. Kagome hoped that the rest of his pack would be alright on their own. She suspected that a new leader would step forward, and that should Kouga stay away too long he wouldn't have a pack to go back to.

"For now, we must leave you to find a suitable place to make our home. Do not worry, fair Kagome, we will be back."

Kagome sighed as they disappeared in a cloud of dust. "That's what I'm afraid of."

Shippo edged forward and came to cry for Joi.

"She was really brave," he whispered.

"Yes, she was."

Shippo looked up at her with emerald green eyes. "You're still going to let me live with your family?"

She ruffled his hair. "Of course." Luckily her mother had loved the young fox kit at first sight, and was attempting to spoil him rotten with mothering already. In the car ride back she had decided that Shippo was a part of the family. The woman was fast.

Shippo ran back into the house to sit with her brother and Ed (who was apparently staying with them until he got a new job, unlike Koto who took off in a huff as soon as she stepped foot on dry land) in front of the television so that they could continue their video game. No more reality television for this family! She hadn't broken it to the young fox kit that he would be starting school soon. He would adjust to life off of the island.

Sango and Miroku were holding hands as they approached. In the submarine there was a proposal of marriage, more like a demand really, and Miroku had happily accepted. Each of them thanked Joi for the part she played in their escape.

"I'm taking Kohaku home," Sango said as she gently touched Kagome's shoulder. "I'll call you tomorrow. Get some rest, Kagome."

"Until we meet again," said Miroku as he took her hand and brought it to his mouth as if to kiss it. He made a face at how dirty and probably smelly it was. Dramatically he shook it instead. Kagome smiled. She was sure he had done that so she would smile.

Sango slipped her hand into Miroku's, and they turned to walk away.

Her two friends would be married by the end of the month, that had been part of the demand...er... proposal. Miroku had no family, and Sango had only her brother, so neither one felt the need for a large wedding. Kohaku would give her away (symbolically, of course, no one GAVE Sango to anyone), Kagome and Inuyasha would stand for them, and Shippo would be the bearer of the rings.

Kohaku and Hachi each gave her a smile before following Sango and Miroku back into the house. They had spent much of the trip back home telling tales about their adventures as they came to their rescue. No one pointed out that they had actually rescued themselves. Kagome couldn't help but return their smile.

For awhile she was certain she may never smile again. It was nice to see that she still could.

The last few weeks (Months? Years? It felt like forever!) had been a nightmare. She spent so much time terrified, exhausted, and in pain. And she would have to find a way to deal with the guilt of what happened to the last contestant. Though she had scared him off and only wounded him with her arrow (humans apparently do NOT explode into a billion sparkly pieces when they were hit), the man had ran from her... straight into the fire. She hadn't known about his fate until they had seen it on the little portable television they had and saw his grisly fate on the highlights episode. Ed was not the only cameraman.

Truly she was the last one standing. But that didn't make her feel less sick when she thought of his fate. And guilt. She felt so much guilt. Maybe if she had done something different…

Rubbing her eyes she tried to wipe that horrible image from her mind. When she opened her eyes, she saw a little, slightly grubby, girl was standing behind them with a bouquet of expensive looking flowers. She gave them to Kagome with a cheerful smile.

"Rin is happy sister is safe."

Kagome smiled. So this was Rin. She was adorable, especially with that one missing tooth. "Thank you. I'm glad Rin is safe too." Sister?

Then the little girl spread her arms out wide and ran as if she were flying back to the limousine that Sesshomaru was leaning against, looking just as cold (yet quite dashing) as ever. He gave her a nod, then got in the vehicle after the little girl and they drove off. The man was scary. The highlights episode also showed the destruction that Sesshomaru caused. Kagome vowed to never make him mad.

She wondered how he had managed to leave the island. And how did he manage to look so CLEAN?

Once everyone left, a figure in red dropped from the trees.

"Hi."

"Hi," Kagome smiled up at him. He had been watching her. She could feel him watching her since they arrived.

Before she could stop herself, she closed her eyes and leaned into him, glad he was just as filthy and smelly as she was. When his arms went around her to hold her close, she relaxed and sighed. Everything was going to be fine. Sure she would have nightmares, probably for years to come, but she would survive.

"So," she said conversationally, as if she wasn't pressed up against him tightly, "No more ignoring me at school?"

"Kagome..." he said in a slight whine, "I explained why... the other kids would have targeted you. Bullied you. I wanted you to be safe."

"Aaaaand you realize you were wrong now and won't ignore me at school anymore?"

"I wasn't wrong, I wanted you to have a normal..."

"And you realize you were wrong now."

"I wasn't..." He paused, the obediently said, "I realize I was wrong now."

"No more ignoring?"

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "No more ignoring."

Kagome stood on tiptoes and kissed him. She was never going to take another day for granted. She would appreciate baths and food and electricity. She would make sure those she loved knew that she loved them. She would be thankful for each day she had with Inuyasha, and their future together WOULD be long and happy. The check that her mother had been given for her to compensate for the 'misunderstanding' and winning the program didn't hurt either.

"I need a bath."

"Yes."

"Possibly ten."

"At least."

Kagome laughed and took his hand to drag him to the house.

The first star shone in the night sky, but Kagome didn't make a wish. She had Inuyasha, and she was safe and at home. Together they would make all their dreams come true.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

As the stars fade, the tendrils of a flowering plant push through the dirt at the base of the God Tree and reaches for the rising sun with joy.

The End

Author's Note:

Kokoronagomu was pretty close in guessing Joi's fate. Though I promise I had that part already written!

Thanks for seeing the story through and your wonderful words of encouragement. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it.


End file.
